N E M E S I S
by MASC
Summary: Sakura is dead and all of Tomoeda mourns its hero. Six months later, Li returns and discovers the team has moved on except him. With a new threat rising, can Li summon the courage to take Sakura's place and become the leader they need him to be?
1. A New Nightmare, A Lost Dream

_**AUTHOR'S NOTE: If anyone's reading this, I'd like to apologize for the shitty ending from the last story 'Tokyo Knights'. I know. It sucked… hard. Now I'm assuming that almost all of my readers have abandoned me and hate me because of it and in retrospect, it probably wasn't such a good idea in the first place. But damn it! I will not go quietly into the night! I will not vanish without a fight! I'm going to keep on writing and if you have any little bit of faith in me still, I will make you BELIEVE things will get better! So for those of you just tuning in, you might wanna check out 'The Next Crusade' or 'Tokyo Knights' before starting this story. If you've already read the other two, please proceed…**_

_**DISCLAIMER: Let me see… I have two Canadian pennies, a rubber ball, a Styrofoam Abraham Lincoln, a document indicating CCS isn't mine nor do its characters belong to me, a T-shirt with Jesus giving the finger and a copy of Richard Simmons' Workout to the Music of Laurie Anderson. Yeah, that's about it…**_

**TOKYO KNIGHTS**

**N E M E S I S**

The sun was setting on a grassy field somewhere in Tomoeda. The sky was now lit with an orangey haze as its violet clouds drifted off into the indigo sky. The wind was blowing gently against the young couple's face as they sat under the cherry tree and watched the sun slowly go down.

"The last time I sat under this tree, watching the sun go down…" Sakura started as she tucked herself tighter beneath Li's embrace. "… I never imagined I'd be doing it again one day in your arms."

"That's good… right?" Li asked as he rested his head over hers.

"Very good." She smiled.

They looked at each other for a brief moment then had a long, passionate kiss as the wind blew against them some more. When they parted lips, their faces were bright red and their hearts were beating in tune with each other's.

"I love you, Sakura." He told her.

"I love you too, Li." She replied back.

"I bet you don't even know how far I'd be willing to prove my love for you."

"There's no need."

"I know there's not. Because I know you would never ask me to do such a thing."

"You're right." She then thought for a moment. "But just out of curiosity…"

He grinned. "Well, for one thing… I'd face your brother in a no-holds-barred cage match."

"Wow. That's really brave of you."

"Or really crazy." He chuckled.

"He'd kill you, y'know."

"And?"

She suddenly looked confused. "What do you mean by that?"

"I think it's worth it."

"To die?"

"For _you_, Sakura."

"That's something I would definitely never ask you to do."

"I know. But that's how I feel. I would die for you, Sakura. If it meant saving your life, saving your family or just telling you how much you mean to me. I would gladly give my life for you."

"I promise that'll never have to happen."

They embraced each other tighter and met for another kiss as the sun finally descended. It was at that moment when the winds started to pick up as the skies darkened and the clouds huddled together.

"What's happening?" Sakura looked up as she and Li broke apart.

"A storm's coming!" Li said as he helped Sakura up. "We better get out of here."

As they began to leave, a cloud of black mist appeared from thin air and wrapped itself over Sakura much to Li's horror.

"Sakura!" He called.

"Li! Help me!" She screamed as the cloud continued to suck her in.

Li grabbed hold of the girl's hand and pulled with all his might but the mist proved to be too strong for him. Once Sakura had been completely taken away, a pair of demonic red eyes gazed at the young boy.

"Who are you!?" He shouted.

"That which you fear the most…" The cloud hissed as it shot a bolt of lightning towards him.

Li awoke from his slumber, drenched with sweat and started to breathe heavily as his hands ran along his hair. The nightmare was over but the dream was now lost.

"Sakura…" He sighed. "…Dead."

Out in the courtyard of his childhood home, Li wandered about and noticed the reparations that had been done. No one could ever tell the evil Blue Demon Knight had attacked the home in a furious assault.

"You couldn't sleep?" Yelan asked her son as she approached him in her gown.

"Mother…" He quickly turned around.

"I could hear you tossing and turning. You were practically muttering to yourself. You haven't done that since…" She looked down for a bit. "…You know."

"Since Sakura died." He finished the sentence despondently.

"You had the nightmare again, didn't you?"

"Yes." He nodded.

"You can't keep going on like this. I know it was hard and it still is. But you must learn to move on and--"

"I'm going back to Tomoeda." He interrupted her, trying to change the subject.

"I thought you were going to stay here for good."

"So did I." He rubbed his forehead as he paced around the court. "But something tells me I need to go back and help them."

"Your teammates?"

"My friends."

"Why? What has happened?"

"Nothing… yet."

¬¬¬¬¬

In a small engineering facility in Tomoeda, several scientists gathered around a protective wall as a man stepped inside the testing ground. The man wore a skintight suit of white and covered his face with a metallic shielding then gave the thumbs up to his analyzers.

"All right." Said one of the men. "Switch it on."

One of the scientists flipped a switch that released a set of high tech weaponry aimed towards the man in white. After pressing a few buttons, the machines were whirring and a flurry of bullets shot straight for the test subject. After the guns had depleted their rounds, the man in white was then subjected to a massive blaze coming from a suspended flamethrower. One minute had passed when the flames died out and still the test subject remained standing, his suit now charred black.

The vacuums sucked up all the smoke and cleared the way for the scientist as he stepped out of the booth and removed his facemask. He was greeted with praise for the success of the trial as the other scientists jotted down their notes.

"Very good, Mr. Sakai." One of the scientists said. "The suit's damage intake surpassed our standards."

"That's excellent news." The man in the suit said. "We can now start negotiations with the military and hopefully get our company back on track."

As the men started to shut down the lab for the night, a shadowy figure crept along the railing of the building and glared at the information displayed on the computer. After a few moments, the mysterious visitor dropped to the floor and startled the men in white coats.

"Call security!" Shouted the man known as Sakai. "Tell them we have a--"

The man was cut short as the figure in the black and gray cape and cowl grabbed him by the face and hurled him against several glass cases of testing matter. The other scientists attempted to flee but the assailant unleashed a binding net from one of its metallic gauntlets, holding the men in place and slowly crushing them.

The stranger then lifted his hood and revealed a metallic skull mask with sharp black eyes and a mouth vent. He then walked over to the main computer and lifted a flap from one of his gloves, revealing a memory port. With the use of a downloading circuit, the assailant connected his glove to the computer and began downloading every bit of information concerning the suit and all its features.

Once the download was complete, the masked stranger pulled his hood over and simply walked out of the building while the scientists remained scattered throughout the floor. Once the attacker reached the back alley of the building, the place itself started to explode with the men still inside. With all of the information stolen and no witnesses alive, the hooded phantasm simply walked away into the night without a single worry.

For two months, occurrences like this had been happening throughout all of Tomoeda's major science production facilities. Masuyo Industries, Hikaru Tech, Katsu Labs and now Sakai Inc. were amongst those terrorized. Reports of stolen technology and information, murdered workers and the destruction of testing labs were all acknowledged by the public as signs that a new menace was on the rise.

And without Sakura Kinomoto, who had been dead now for six months, the people feared it would only be a matter of time until this so-called "Shadow Reaper" would haunt the city itself next. The Tokyo Knights, however, vowed to prevent that from happening.

¬¬¬¬¬

Another night had fallen on the city of Tomoeda as a heavily armed man shot back at his pursuers as he drove hastily and carelessly along the city streets. With Yue hot on his trail, the man swerved to the right and took a shortcut through the park.

"He's heading for the park." Yue spoke through an earpiece. "Ruby, are you in position?"

"You know I am!" Ruby responded as she swooped down and sliced off the roof of the car with a magic shard.

"Oh shit…" The man said as he continued speeding.

"He's all yours, Eriol." Ruby spoke through her piece.

Suddenly, a small cloud of rain formed above the roofless vehicle and started to drench the man in an attempt to impair his view. Eriol stood in the middle of the road, his staff glowing bright yellow but the criminal ignored him and attempted to run him over.

With a wall of fire rising from the ground, the man panicked and hit the brakes too soon which caused him to crash through the windshield. Cerberus chuckled as he and Spinel watched the man roll over the broken glass in pain.

"You know…" Eriol started as he kneeled over the man. "…That's why they invented seatbelts."

Before the team could apprehend the criminal, another speeding vehicle pulled up and revealed two other armed men with masks. They started to shoot at the team but Yue's and Ruby's magic shields protected them all in time as the first suspect easily escaped Eriol's grip and headed straight for the getaway car.

"They're getting away!" Spinel shouted as he and Cerberus went after them.

The vehicle anticipated the two beasts to raise another wall of fire as it made a hard U-turn and headed towards the downtown region. With all four guardians hot on their trail now, the driver picked up the speed as another one of the men held a remote in his hand.

"Focus your attacks on the tires. We don't want to kill them." Yue commanded as Ruby, Spinel and Cerberus flew in a line.

As the car drove right through a red light, the entire stoplight itself exploded and caught the guardians by surprise. The four of them were pushed back by the impact of the explosion and now had to focus on putting the flames out as the men now got away.

Further on down the road, the men could see the team was still chasing after them with Eriol riding on Spinel's back and Tomoyo and Meiling riding on Cerberus. Yue and Ruby Moon attempted to cut them off from the front but the driver's proficiency allowed them to swerve away yet again.

"We can't keep this up!" Tomoyo shouted.

Just when the criminals thought they were home free, another wall of fire arose from the ground as a powerful gust of wind pushed the vehicle into it. This sudden occurrence gave Ruby and Yue the chance to swoop down and cut off the roof of the car as Cerberus and Spinel picked up all four of the men and lowered them to the ground.

"Thought you could get away, huh?" Meiling said as she tied them all up.

"That was good thinking, Eriol!" Tomoyo said as she wrapped her arms around him.

"Uhh…" The blue-eyed boy had a confused look on his face. "I didn't do that."

"You don't have to be modest."

"No, I mean I really didn't! That wasn't my spell!"

"No…" Said a familiar voice as it stepped from behind the fire. "…It was mine."

Everyone was surprised to see their old friend back home, armed with his sword and ofuda just like old times.

"Now, honestly…" He started. "Are you guys really that bad without me?"

"Li!" Tomoyo's face immediately lit up as she ran over to the boy and gave him a tight hug.

"Hi, Tomoyo." He smiled. "It's good to see you too."

"Hey, the kids back!" Kero said as he transformed back into doll form.

¬¬¬¬¬

After the police had taken the men away, the team in black suits walked along the city streets, reunited with their teammate.

"You still actually go outside in those suits?" Li asked.

"The old ones were nice but I thought I'd give the uniforms a little more protection." Tomoyo explained. "Especially around the elbow region."

"What about you, Li?" Eriol asked. "Are you going to be putting on a suit again anytime soon?"

"No." He slowly shook his head.

Everyone was surprised by his answer but decided it best to shrug it off and continue their way back home. As they walked, Tomoyo could sense in Li that he was still greatly troubled by something.

¬¬¬¬¬

Inside the living room of Tomoyo's house, Sonomi walked in on her daughter and Li as they were sitting on the couch and talking with each other.

"I've set up a room for you, Li." The woman said. "It's down the hall and to your left so when you're ready, you can turn in for the night."

"Thank you, Ms. Daidouji." The boy responded.

"It's good to see you again." She then turned to her daughter. "Good night, Tomoyo."

"Good night, mother." Tomoyo said as her mother left the room. She then turned to Li with a concerned look on her face. "How are you, Li? Really."

"I…" The boy was at a loss for words. "I don't know exactly. I'm glad to be back here amongst friends but… a part of me wishes I _wasn't _here."

"Because of… Sakura?"

Li nodded and leaned back on the sofa as Tomoyo sensed something indeed was troubling him. She moved in and put her hand on his in an attempt to figure out what was bothering him.

"Something's bothering you, isn't it?" She asked. "And it's not just Sakura's death."

Li gave her a surprised look and turned away. "No. Of course not."

"Please, Li. Don't lie to me."

With a heavy sigh, Li faced the girl and explained. "I've been having this dream lately."

"A dream?"

"It starts off as a fond memory I have of Sakura and I. We're in the fields beneath the cherry tree and we're just sitting down, talking. My arms are wrapped around her head is placed against my chest."

"I remember. You and Sakura always did that whenever one of you was feeling down."

"Yeah. But the dream suddenly fades away and a nightmare sets in."

"What kind of nightmare?"

"A sort of black cloud comes in and shrouds itself over Sakura, taking her away from me. Before I can fight back, I wake up. And I realize once again that she's gone and she's never coming back."

Tomoyo looked down and leaned back against her seat. "What could it mean? I doubt it's any kind of premonition now that Sakura's gone. There haven't been any magical disturbances since the Kibou Festival and if there were, Eriol would have picked up on it. Maybe it's just a dream, Li, and nothing more than that. Just a simple, no-strings attached… dream."

She looked up to see Li had already fallen asleep on the couch and gently smiled. She left the room for a minute then returned with a blanket to lay over her friend. Once he was covered, Tomoyo smiled again and placed a kiss on his forehead. She then walked off, stopping only to shut off the light but before doing so, she gave one last glance at the young boy and whispered softly.

"Welcome home, my friend."

_**ANOTHER NOTE: It's a rough start, I know. But expect things to get better in the following chapters. That is, if you're reading it at all… Crap. I'm in trouble, aren't I?**_


	2. Taking Their Time

_**AUTHOR'S NOTE: Hi, it's me again… heheh… listen, I think this story's gonna be the shortest one of 'em all. I don't know yet. It might, it might not. You never know. Anyway, I'll just leave you alone now and… and, uhh… yeah, I'll just go. Sorry…**_

**2**

In the six months Li had been gone, the city of Tomoeda had changed drastically. Because of Sakura's death, there was fear on the streets and despair in the hearts of many. The protection of Eriol and the rest of the Tokyo Knights gave them a little comfort but not as much as when Sakura was still around. The damage caused by Lorca and the Demon Knights was cleaned up, buildings repaired and the site where Sakura had fallen was made into a shrine.

A gold plaque engraved into the ground with a cherry blossom motif surrounded the words: MAY SHE ALWAYS LIVE ON. Everyday, admirers of the fallen hero left flowers, cards and dolls resembling her onto the shrine. So much, in fact, the city officials decided to cut that part of the street off from traffic and leave it as reminder to everyone that things will no longer be the same.

¬¬¬¬¬

"You'd think after six months, they'd learn to move on." Chiharu said as she and Takashi watched admirers place their gifts from across the street.

"Everybody needs to take their time." The boy said, putting his arm around her. "I know I did."

"So did I."

"I still can't believe this had to happen, though." Takashi looked down. "She was always so strong and brave."

"She never showed any fear." Chiharu added.

After a long silence, Takashi wrapped his arm around Chiharu even tighter and led her away from the view as they headed back into town.

"Come on." He said. "We have to go meet the others."

¬¬¬¬¬

Inside his building, Hiroshi Kanaye had just finished a meeting with the board of directors when he was approached by one of the senior staff.

"Mr. Kanaye…" The older looking man said.

"Yes, Mr. Tanaka?" Kanaye sighed.

"What was that?"

"What was what?"

"That meeting just now."

"Same as always. We make progress, we let you know and it falls on your boys in marketing to get the damn things sold. It's as simple as that."

"You know what I mean. How could you say there's nothing to fear? Your company is at risk here."

"Really? Is someone planning to buy us out?" Kanaye joked as he started to walk down the hall.

Tanaka chased after the man and kept up with him. "Listen to me, I beg you! We need to relocate some of our testing facilities and put everything on a backup file!"

"And why would we do that? Our facilities are fine just where they are."

"This Shadow Reaper business is nothing to laugh at, Hiroshi! He's already brought down Sakai Inc. along with Masuyo and all those other helpless fools!."

"The Shadow Reaper is nothing but a media device used to scare us big business owners into being 'more eco-friendly' and 'environmentally sound.' It's a joke."

"But what if it isn't!? People have died!"

Hiroshi stepped into an elevator and gave his associate one last look. "Don't worry your pretty bald head, Tanaka. He's not going anywhere near our company. _My_ company."

"But he might! We could be next!"

"Bye-bye!" The businessman said as the elevator doors closed.

¬¬¬¬¬

Inside a restaurant, Takashi and Chiharu met up with Rika and Naoko, who were already seated and waiting for them.

"It took you guys long enough." Naoko greeted the couple with a smile.

"Sorry." Chiharu said as she took a seat next to the window. "We took a shortcut through 3rd Street."

"Near the shrine?" Rika asked, almost surprised. "Why?" 

"I figured it would be best seeing as we haven't stopped by in a few months." The young girl took a sip of tea. "I feel really bad."

"We all do." Takashi said as he handed his menu to the waiter.

"But we shouldn't feel that way, should we?" Naoko looked at her friends, who shrugged at the question.

"All I can say is…" Rika looked out the window, as if the events from those six months ago were reoccurring outside. "Either we do or don't, there was no way we could have prevented what happened."

"Do you actually believe that?" Takashi shot her a doubtful glare.

"I do."

"But even if there _was_ something we could have done, what would it have been?" Chiharu scratched her head. "We don't have any powers, we're completely oblivious to the world of magic and I don't think we're mentally equipped to deal with what Sakura and the others faced."

"On a regular basis, no doubt." Rika shook her head. "I admire them. I really do. All that time, before they went public, saving us and we didn't even know it."

"You know, I don't think we ever had a chance to properly thank them." Naoko added. "Now I feel even worse."

"But could you imagine how Li feels?" Takashi said. "I heard from Tomoyo he was arranging for him and Sakura to get married one day and now…" He sighed heavily. "…That'll never happen."

Chiharu took Takashi's hand then pondered for a moment. "But imagine her family. Her father."

"You're right." Naoko's eyes grew wide. "To lose your wife and finally make peace with it so many years after and then having your only daughter taken away from you so suddenly…"

"It escapes me as to why we bother coming here at the end of every month to look back on the darkest day of our lives." The boy said as he sipped from his teacup. "Maybe Rika's right. There _was_ no way we could have helped them."

"Takashi, what are you trying to say?" Chiharu looked into his eyes.

"I'm saying Sakura gave her life to save us and all we could do was watch. Watch and… wait for her to finally fall." He leaned against his seat. "We were useless to her. We were always in the way."

"She wouldn't see it that way." Naoko told him.

"No. Because she's dead."

"What about Tomoyo and the other Knights?" Asked Chiharu. "What if we could find some way to assist them to make up for Sakura? It wouldn't be much but--"

"It wouldn't be the same." A solemn Takashi interrupted her.

"To think everyone has already moved on when in reality…" Rika looked down on the table. "…We haven't. We really, really haven't."

"Some more than others, anyway."

¬¬¬¬¬

At the Kinomoto residence, Fujitaka added the finishing touches to the dinner he was preparing as Touya set the table. Once the cooking was complete, Mr. Kinomoto brought out the tray of food and set it on the table, when he suddenly noticed an error in his son's table setting.

"Touya…" The man said, almost trembling in his throat.

"What is it?" The young man raised an eyebrow.

"You did it again."

"Did what again? I don't…" Touya turned and looked at the table, finally realizing his mistake.

Instead of setting two dinner plates on the table, he had set three. On a certain location, near a certain chair where a certain other person used to sit across from him. Touya closed his eyes and turned his head, frustrated that he had done this yet again without even knowing.

"It's okay, son." Fujitaka placed a hand on his son's shoulder. "Just leave it there."

"I'm sorry." He said in a low tone.

"Don't worry about it. Just sit down."

After dinner, there was a knock at the door. Touya volunteered to answer, expecting it to be Yuki but was completely taken aback by who he saw in his place.

"Hello, Touya." Li gave him a warm smile.

"Kid…" The older man exhaled slowly. "You're back."

"Yeah. I am."

"For good or are you just visiting?"

"I don't know yet."

"Well… come on in."

"Thanks."

"Who is it?" Fujitaka asked as he stepped out of the kitchen, surprised to find Li paying them a visit.

"Hello, Mr. Kinomoto." Li bowed his head and smiled.

¬¬¬¬¬

After hours of talking with each other, Fujitaka came to the conclusion that his late daughter was very much alive in all their hearts. The connection the men made with each other with all that talk could only have been made because of the one person they all had something in common with. As the night sky grew darker, Li decided it was time to leave but not without Touya and Fujitaka seeing him out properly.

"Do you have anywhere to stay tonight?" Fujitaka asked the young boy.

"Tomoyo was kind enough to let me stay at her place another night until I can get my old apartment back tomorrow." He replied. "Thank you anyway."

"Sure thing. Just…"

"Yes?"

"…Well…" The man was at a loss for words then chuckled for a bit. "Don't be a stranger, huh? You're always welcome back here anytime."

"Really?" Li gave Touya a funny look.

"He means it." Sakura's brother said with a grin.

"Thank you. Goodnight."

"Goodnight, Li." The man said as he went back inside his home.

As Li walked off, Touya called out to him one last time. "Hey, kid!"

"Yeah?" He turned and faced him.

"I know you were planning on marrying Sakura one day."

"You do?"

"Yeah, I do."

"And?"

"And if you ask me, she couldn't have found a better person to spend the rest of her life with." He smiled. "You two deserved to be together."

"Thanks."

¬¬¬¬¬

Atop a hill, where all of Tomoeda's city lights could clearly be seen, the Shadow Reaper stood proudly as his tattered cape blew with the wind. The mysterious thief then flipped open a computer panel in one of his gloves and punched in a few keys until a small beeping noise was heard.

"Kanaye Industries…" The Reaper's deep voice said smoothly.

After getting all the necessary information, the Reaper turned and slowly descended down the hill with a new target in mind. By the looks of things, Hiroshi Kanaye's company was no longer safe.


	3. Missing Projects

_**AUTHOR'S NOTE: All right, I've decided. This WILL be a short story. You're looking at maybe… 10, 15 chapters at least. Maybe less. Maybe a little more. But that's it! Oh, and I should probably warn you right now. It's gonna get a little graphic later on. Much later. Almost towards an 'M' rating. I don't know, you be the judge. I'll give you another warning when the time comes. **_

**3**

The next morning, Li stumbled into a small workout room inside the mansion, where he found Tomoyo jabbing roughly against a large punching bag. Judging by the amount of sweat on her workout clothes, he could tell she had been at it for hours. With every breath she took, she punched the bag harder and faster as Li watched her admirably like a teacher would to a student. The shy and seemingly frail Tomoyo Daidouji he once knew was no longer in view. What he saw before him was a mobile, agile, fighting machine, who still had the graceful beauty and unconditional love and kindness for her friends she always had within her. After giving the bag a few kicks, she noticed Li standing at the doorway and stopped immediately.

"Oh…" She said out of breath. "Good morning."

"Good morning." He smiled at her.

"I'm sorry. Did I wake you?"

"No, of course not."

"Oh, good."

"I see you're still using that left hook I showed you. You ever use it on anybody?"

"On occasion. When I'm in a bad mood."

"You? In a bad mood?" He joked. "I don't believe it…"

"It happens."

"I, uhh… want to thank you for letting me stay here."

"No problem. Are you leaving again?"

"Well not exactly. I just got my apartment back. I'll be completely moved in by the end of the day. So if you don't see me later on, you'll know where I'll be."

"Oh." She suddenly looked somewhat disappointed.

"Is something wrong?"

"No." She shook her head. "I just wanted to know if you wanted to go with me and Eriol later on."

"Where to?"

"The concert in the gardens tonight. The one they have every year near the--"

"Near the cherry blossom trees." Li nodded, remembering the event clearly.

"I understand if you don't want to."

"No." He shook his head. "You and Eriol go ahead. You two should enjoy the time together. I don't want to get in the way."

"But we really don't mind. In fact, Eriol's the one who suggested you come along with us."

He gave her a warm smile and placed his hand on her shoulder. "That's okay, Tomoyo. Thanks anyway."

¬¬¬¬¬

"Mr. Kanaye!" Young Tochigi called out to his employer as he ran after him in the halls of the building.

"Yes, Tochigi? What is it?" The man turned around and met halfway.

"I just found out some documents containing some very important information have been…" He started too look around nervously.

"Have been what, Tochigi?"

"Well… _misplaced_, sir. Lost."

"Right." The man nodded along. "Which documents are we talking about exactly?"

"I'm talking about the information and data we have on Projects Moonstone and Firefly."

"And they're both missing?"

"Yes, sir."

"How much information?"

"All of it, sir."

The businessman was taken aback by his response. "…All of it?"

"I'm afraid so, sir."

Looking over his back for any eavesdroppers, Kanaye took his young assistant aside and spoke to him in a low and calm voice.

"All right, Tochigi…" He started. "What about the data discs? Hard copies. ROM drives. Everything at the eastern facility. What about them?"

"They've all been wiped clean, sir. Not a trace anywhere."

"Damn it." 

"There's more."

"More?"

"It appears the prototype for the Klaw X-2000 has also been stolen."

Hiroshi started to rub his brows, anticipating even more bad news. "And the information on that?"

"Also deleted, sir."

With a heavy sigh, Kanaye turned and faced the wall as Tochigi stood by with a nervous look on his face. They both knew who was responsible but were unwilling to come out and say it.

"Sir…" The young man continued. "Maybe it's time we consider the fact that the--"

"The Shadow Reaper is _not _responsible, Tochigi!" Kanaye interrupted sharply. "I don't care how many people buy into this crap, there is no such thing as the Shadow Reaper!"

"Well…"

"Well what!?"

"You may be onto something, sir."

"What do you mean?"

"Everyone at the facility was unharmed. They're still alive. No signs of any murder and the building itself is still operational. That's how I found out about this."

"How did the crew discover the projects were missing?"

"The place had been ransacked. They found it like that this morning."

"It must have happened overnight."

"Was anyone scheduled for testing that night?"

"No, sir."

"Oh, God…" Kanaye sighed again. "We can't let the board find out about this. Tochigi, this conversation never happened."

"Sir?"

"We can't jump to conclusions just yet until we know exactly what it is we're dealing with. Understand?"

"Yes, sir."

"Until then, just stay out of view. Play dumb if you have to."

"Yes, sir. Of course. One more thing, though…"

"What is it now, Tochigi?"

"I also happened to stumble upon some old paperwork concerning the Genesis project."

"Kagawa disposed of that project a long time ago. Do you realize if he hadn't, Sakura Kinomoto…" He paused for a moment. "…would still be alive."

¬¬¬¬¬

Kero stood outside the door, just staring at it with no intention whatsoever to enter the room that awaited him. For the six months Sakura had been dead, Kero was deathly afraid to go inside her room and reenter the cubbyhole she had made for him all those years ago. He was afraid but he made sure the others didn't know, despite the fact they could already tell. The days seemed unbearable for the doll when Fujitaka would head out to work and Touya would be off somewhere, either at college or at the hangar, working on the WarHawk with Yukito.

For almost eight hours a day, he was alone in a big house where three people used to live in. Before that, there used to be four people but that person never had the opportunity to meet the guardian beast of the seal. It was indescribable the feeling Kero had that prevented him from going inside his mistress' room but it was real. And it was eating him up inside. When the time came for the entire team to head out on a mission, he would be more than happy to get there as soon as possible. In a sense, the action helped keep his mind off the pain he had deep down.

Luckily for him, Eriol and the others were now living across the street, which enabled the doll to go over and mess with his feline companion whenever he wanted. Of course Spinel suffered from Kero's wrath but the plush doll himself knew that kind of remedy only lasted for so long. Now Kero had to go through another lonely day, standing outside the door of his lost mistress' room. That was as far as he'd ever gotten in so long a time. Before, it would frighten him to go up the steps but he soon learned to get over that part.

"I shouldn't even be alive…" He whispered to himself. "I failed you, Sakura. I'm sorry."

"Kero?" Fujitaka called out as he arrived from work. "Kero, are you there?"

The yellow doll slowly descended from the staircase and greeted the man with a feigned smile, trying to hide his tears. "I'm here. What's going on?"

The professor could see right through his charade and smiled warmly. "You were standing outside her door, weren't you?"

"Is it that obvious?"

"Kero, I know you're not comfortable sleeping in my room. So why don't you just--"

"I just can't!" The doll snapped. "It's not the same!"

"It's only a room, Kero."

"_Her_ room!" He fought back a few tears. "I know it shouldn't be this difficult but it is! I don't know why! I can't explain it…"

With a sigh, Fujitaka set his things down and headed for the kitchen. "I'm going to get dinner ready. Do you want to help me?"

"I don't know…" He sniffled. "That was usually mine and Sakura's thing."

"I'll give you a 2nd helping of dessert."

"So what are we making?"


	4. Guilt & Promises

**4**

Eriol sat in the den of his house, going over several newspapers that had been scattered all over his desk. Every one of the papers had the same type of article going on about missing technology, lost data and information, scientists who were slain at the laboratories where they worked and the rise of the Kanaye empire.

"It doesn't make any sense…" Eriol ran his hands through his hair.

"What doesn't make any sense?" Suppi asked as he flew over to his master.

"All these newspapers report various scientific production companies getting attacked by this so-called Shadow Reaper. Once they're on the verge of a major pharmaceutical or industrial breakthrough, they're attacked and all their data is reported stolen."

"And why are you reading up on this?"

"I have a very bad feeling Hiroshi Kanaye is going to be next."

"So?"

"Don't you think it's a bit odd the man's company hasn't been affected by all this yet? That after Sakura's death, his business has started to boom…."

"Well that's because all those other companies have been getting ransacked and the only place to turn to now is Kanaye's!"

Eriol nodded along. "Yes. Whoever this Reaper is, he's not going to let Kanaye stay in the limelight too long. His company will be the next target and soon we might have yet another crisis on our hands."

"Crisis? What kind of crisis?"

"Whatever the Reaper's stealing, whatever information he's gathering, I expect him to use it all against us."

"You mean Tomoeda?"

"Yes."

"How? Why?"

"I don't know yet. We have to go speak with him."

"Kanaye? Are you kidding me?"

Just then, Tomoyo stepped in the room and greeted her boyfriend with a kiss on the lips. Spinel gagged and flew into the kitchen, where Nakuru was already finishing up dinner.

"I spoke to Li." Tomoyo said.

"Really? What did he say? Will he be joining us tonight?" Eriol asked.

"No. He said he was going to spend all day moving back in."

"So he's back for good?"

"That's the way it looks."

"Have you told Meiling?"

"I've tried calling but I can't seem to reach her. Where did she run off to yesterday?" 

¬¬¬¬¬

Atop one of the many buildings standing across from Kanaye Industries, Meiling lowered her binoculars and placed them into her holster. She had been spying on the building in her black uniform since Li's return. Something about Kanaye had been bothering her for months and now she was determined to get straight to the bottom of things.

"What the hell are you planning?" She asked herself in a low voice. "Why haven't you been attacked yet?"

The wind blew hard and caused the young girl to look back, thinking she had been followed by someone. There was nobody there. Shrugging it off, Meiling climbed down the rusty old ladder and jumped back down to the surface. She could see Kanaye stepping out of his building and into his car and watched as he drove off into the small service tunnel ahead.

"I don't like this." The girl shook her head.

¬¬¬¬¬

Touya slowly walked along the hangar and found Yukito working underneath the WarHawk. He leaned down a bit and met his friend in the middle, where Yuki was working up a sweat with his various tools.

"Hey." Was all the dark haired boy said.

"Hey…" Yuki replied back.

"What's wrong with her now?"

"Nothing much. I just thought I'd give her a checkup. She'll need a new oil filter."

"Already?"

"The one we had was pretty much out of date and ready to give out. I'm surprised we haven't plummeted to our deaths yet."

"I'll have to talk to Sonomi then."

"Mm-hmm…" Yuki continued working on the plane.

"Damn it, Yuki." Touya sighed impatiently. "How long are you going to keep doing this?"

"Doing what?"

"You know what I mean. It's been like this for months now. You come straight over here after work or after school and you just mess around with the plane, trying to find something to do with it."

"I'm just taking care of her." He gave him a serious look. "That's all."

"Oh my God…" Touya came to a realization. "Is that why you've been doing this? Because you feel guilty over Sakura's death?"

"I didn't do what I was supposed to do."

"Yes you did. You were supposed to help her and you did. You--"

"I was supposed to _protect_ her!" He slammed a wrench down to the floor. "I was supposed to look after her and make sure nothing bad happened to her!"

"Yuki, it's not your fault."

"Yes it is, Touya! I made a promise to you that I would protect her and I failed!"

"You didn't make that promise. Yue did. And even so, it wasn't his fault either."

"But don't you get it?! If I had just disobeyed her orders and gone back for her, she could still be alive! She could…" Yuki started to fight back the tears. "… I've just been so miserable. This guilt I have is weighing down on me like a… like a big rock or something that just weighs a ton and…"

"You have nothing to feel guilty about, Yukito. Believe me. I was angry this happened but I learned to accept it and move on."

"But how can you say that? You're her brother. And now your sister is dead."

"My mother is also dead, Yuki. And I learned how to move on with that too. I just never thought I'd have to learn to go on without Sakura. But I did. And it was hard."

"So what now?" 

"Now? We just do what we've been doing for the past few months. Protect the city."

"Stop some bad guys?"

"Look for trouble?"

"Kick some ass?"

"Just like old times."

¬¬¬¬¬

The musicians tuned their instruments and began playing a light tune as the guests arrived and took their seats outside in the gardens. Tomoyo and Eriol sat next to each other as Sonomi and Nakuru took the seats behind them. Once everyone was seated, the orchestra began playing a slow, soothing melody that immediately clicked with Tomoyo's memory. As the music played, her eyes grew wide and awe-inspired much to Eriol's acknowledgment.

"Is something wrong?" He whispered to her, placing his hand over hers.

"No, it's just…" Tomoyo turned to him with a warm smile across her face. "It's an old song Sakura and I used to hear when we were younger. We would hear it in music class almost all the time, it was like a lullaby to us."

"If it's bothering you, we can leave."

"No." She squeezed his hand a bit tighter. "Just listen."

"All right." He kissed her forehead. "We'll stay then."

Suppi sighed heavily and looked around for a clock that didn't seem to exist then tugged at Nakuru's arm.

"What is it?" She whispered. "I'm trying to listen."

"When does this crap end? I wanna go home." The cat whispered back.

"We just got here."

"Yeah but it's taking too long."

"The music just started, you uncultured furball. And anyway, if you're so bored then why did you come?"

"When you said concert in the gardens, I thought you meant a real concert and not this classical crap."

"You like classical music!" She almost raised her voice.

"Yeah but not when I don't have a remote to skip to the best bits!"

"You're such a kid, you know that?" 

"I wanna go home!"

"I've got a mallow cup in my purse. Don't make me use it." 

"I'll be good…" Spinel backed down and groomed himself.

¬¬¬¬¬

Li looked outside on the balcony of his apartment and could hear the music playing from the distance. He could see the lights coming from the small stage where the musicians played. Just then, his cell phone started to ring and caught the boy's attention.

"What the…" Li looked at the number calling him and answered. "Meiling?"

"Li!" The girl breathed heavily on the other line. "I need you to come downtown quick!"

"What? Why? What's going on?"

"We've got an emergency!"

"What emergency? Where exactly are you?"

"I'm running all over downtown, chasing this guy! I found him!"

"What guy!?"

"The Reaper, Li! The Shadow Reaper! I'm on his tail and I'm gonna need backup! Send for the team and we'll regroup at Tokyo Tower!"

"How do you know he's going there?"

"I've got a feeling about it, Li. Just trust me!" With that said, she hung up.

"Wait! Meiling! Meiling!" He waited for a reply until he realized she had already hung up. "Damn it."


	5. Enter The Reaper

**5**

Tomoyo could feel the silent buzz coming from her cell phone and took it out, surprised by the familiar number displayed on the small screen. Taking Eriol by the hand and leading him out of the aisle, Tomoyo headed for a secluded area of the gardens as the orchestra continued playing melodiously.

"I'm here, Li." She answered in a low voice. "What's going on?"

"We've got trouble." A disturbed Li could be heard on the other line. "Meiling's spotted the Shadow Reaper and now she's headed for the radio tower to meet him there."

"What? That's crazy!"

"You have to go help her now before something bad happens."

"Yeah, we'll be there. Are you already on your way?"

"I won't be going."

"What? Li, you have to--" Tomoyo was immediately cut off. "Li? Li?"

"What is it?" A curious Eriol asked.

"He hung up on me."

"Is he going to meet us at the tower?"

"I don't think so…" Tomoyo slowly shook her head then sighed frustratingly. "Come on."

Eriol quickly rushed through the aisles and over to Nakuru and gently tapped her shoulder, catching hers and Spinel's attention in the process.

"What is it?" The moon guardian asked.

"We've got to go." Eriol said before hurrying back off.

"Oh, thank God…" Spinel groaned.

¬¬¬¬¬

"What was she thinking, going after him like that?" Tomoyo stressfully asked while zipping up her left black glove as she, Eriol and Nakuru quickly walked down the halls of the mansion, dressed in their suits.

"I don't know." Eriol shook his head, activating his staff.

"I mean, we've been tracking this guy down for months and when we finally get a break, Meiling has to go and jeopardize the whole mission on something stupid like this."

"Who's to say it's jeopardized? Everyone ready?"

"Wait, where's Yukito?"

"He said he'd meet us there." Kero said as he and Spinel flew in. "Hell of a time to show up late, if you ask me."

"Let's go." Nakuru nodded as she, Kero and Spinel exchanged glances.

In a matter of seconds, the glowing magic circle surrounded the small group and in a swirling vortex of energy, transported them out of the halls of Tomoyo's house.

¬¬¬¬¬

Inside his bedroom, Li sat on his bed and stared across into nothingness as several empty boxes were scattered about. With a heavy sigh, he laid back and stared at the ceiling with a guilty conscience for not joining his friends in the pursuit of the Reaper. Despite the fact he returned to Tomoeda, fearing for the safety of his friends, this so-called Shadow Reaper didn't seem to worry him as much.

Everything he read in the papers led him to believe that despite all the murders, all the vandalism and all the thefts, the city's newest threat was nothing more than just a petty criminal. But for some strange reason, beyond what was written down in black and white, Li couldn't be bothered with the idea of chasing someone like him down. His only concern was to figure out the meaning of his haunting nightmares and to figure out how to protect his remaining few friends from suffering Sakura's fate.

"This is stupid…" The boy sighed. "I should be out there. To help them…"

Shaking his head, Li tossed out the idea and got back up on his feet. He walked over to his desk and searched through all the newspapers he had saved up, containing several reports on the town's newest villain. Again, he couldn't see past this simple criminal that shouldn't be much of a problem.

"Reaper." He scoffed. "What a joke." 

¬¬¬¬¬

Atop Tokyo Tower, the Reaper stood on the platform and gazed at the city lights below him as his tattered black cape blew with the wind. Slowly, Meiling crept behind in the shadows and waited for the others to arrive.

"I know you're there." The low mechanical voice rasped. "There's no need for subterfuge. Show yourself."

Reluctantly, Meiling slowly revealed herself and faced the Reaper as he turned to face her. The silver-chromed mask shined with the light from the moon as a pair of bright red eyes switched on, nearly startling the young girl.

"Who are you?" She asked.

"Someone you don't want to toy with. Turn and walk away now and you won't get hurt." The hooded figure warned.

"How do you know I will?"

"I don't. All I know is that you're here to stop me and get the information you want to merit your names."

Meiling grinned as she could hear the sound of her teammates arriving to help her. "You know something? You're absolutely right."

The young girl wasted no time in charging forward and laying a few swings across the Reaper, who managed to block every one with ease. Agitated, Meiling raised her leg and attempted to kick him down but the Reaper managed once again to dodge the attack and pushed her down.

"Meiling!" Tomoyo shouted as she and the others ran along the platform.

The Reaper looked up and noticed Spinel Sun and Cerberus flying towards him and stuck out his metallic glove. In an instant, the two guardians were trapped in a tight, binding net which prevented them from concentrating properly to break free.

"Spinel! Kero!" Nakuru yelled as she hurried over to assist them.

Eriol swung his staff around and sent forth an electric attack but the Reaper absorbed the energy with his glove and sent it back towards the boy, pinning him against the wall. Furious, Tomoyo sprung into action and swung her legs around in an attempt to knock over the Reaper.

The Reaper, however, managed to grab hold of her leg and smack her across the face with the smooth backend of the metallic glove. Meiling caught her friend and went back at it as Nakuru transformed into her guardian form to assist.

"If you fight me, I swear to you that you will lose. All of you." The voice spoke again.

Ignoring him, Meiling threw another few shots but ended up taking a few hits herself from the painful wrath of the shadowy stalker. Ruby Moon managed to break through the net and combined her magic with the sun guardians as they unleashed a powerful blast towards their attacker.

Shrouding himself with his cape, the Reaper took the brunt of the blast and revealed himself to be still standing when the attack had ended. Just then, a few curved blades unleashed themselves from the metallic gloves of the Reaper and twirled straight for the Tokyo Knights.

"Oh, that isn't good…" Meiling gulped as she leapt into the air, dodging every blade that went her way.

"What is this crap!?" Cerberus asked as he shot down the contraptions with his fiery breath.

As he tried to escape, a cage of metal raised from the ground and surrounded the cloaked menace. Turning around, he could see Eriol holding his magic staff firmly with a serious look on his face.

"You're not getting away." The blue-eyed boy said.

"And you're not capturing me that easily." The Reaper ripped through the bars with ease. He then grabbed the boy by the neck and dangled him over the ledge much to everyone's horror.

"Don't you drop him!" Tomoyo demanded.

"Back away, Knights." 

Slowly, everyone obeyed the order and watched carefully as Eriol attempted a sneak attack to break free from the Reaper's grasp. Unfortunately, without looking back, the Reaper managed to knock him out by gripping his nerve firmly before any action could be taken. And to ensure his escape, the Reaper charged his metallic fist with an energy beam and blasted his opponents with a crippling effect.

"I can't move!" Spinel strained.

"I warned you." The man in the mask said as he dropped Eriol and sent him plummeting several stories down.

"No! Eriol!" Tomoyo shouted despairingly.

"Goodbye." The Reaper said as he repelled his way down the tower.

Everyone struggled to move their legs, eventually managing to crawl along the platform and look down the tower. When hope for Eriol's survival declined, it suddenly raised right back up again when Yue ascended with the young boy in his arms.

"Yue!" Tomoyo sighed with relief. "You saved him!"

"Yes." The silver-haired guardian nodded. "But I'm afraid I came too late to stop the Reaper."

"Doesn't matter." Spinel shook his head. "I'm sure he'd have kicked _your_ ass too!"

"How is this possible? How did he manage to immobilize all of you?"

"The guy's good." Meiling shrugged. "He didn't even break a sweat."

"Can you move?" 

"I can feel it starting to wear off." Tomoyo said.

"Good."

¬¬¬¬¬

"Why did you come back, Li?" A frustrated Tomoyo asked him as they stood in the middle of his room.

It had only been half an hour since their return from their failed mission and already Tomoyo was burning up inside with an anger she never wanted to express. Luckily for her, Eriol made it out okay and everyone was able to move again. As for Li, she was incredibly upset that he wasn't there to help them like he should have been.

"I… it's hard to explain." Was all Li could think of.

"Really? Try me." Tomoyo was losing patience.

"Listen, Tomoyo, I didn't come here to chase around bad guys whose only goal is to steal the latest technology and make a profit from it."

"Li, I know it's got to be more than that. Who knows what this Reaper is capable of? He could be stealing the parts to assemble some kind of weapon and turn it on this city in no time!"

"Is that what you think? What parts have been stolen, huh? Nobody knows."

"And that's what makes this situation more serious. If the companies that are being looted are keeping quiet about which projects have been stolen or 'misplaced', it could mean that something big is out there and they just don't want to cause a scare."

"Of course they don't want to cause a scare. That's why we have flashy tabloids, so they can do all the scaring _for _them."

"Li, it doesn't really matter what he's up to. What matters is that you weren't there to help us when we really needed you."

"I told you. I didn't come back here to suit up with you guys and go chasing after every bad guy with a weapon just because he robbed some old lady's purse."

"Then why, Li!?" Tomoyo almost shouted. "_Why_!?"

"My dreams, Tomoyo!" He finally caved in. "They're getting worse everyday. And now I have this bad feeling something will happen to you and I won't be able to prevent it."

"Nothing will happen to the team if you're there to lead us."

"Not the team, Tomoyo. _You_!"

"What?"

"I don't…" Li struggled to let out his words. "I don't want to lose you the way I lost _her_. You mean a lot to me more than ever now since I realized… you're the only friend I have left."

Tomoyo looked Li in the eye and put her hands over his, trying to hold back her tears then spoke to him in a low voice. "Nothing bad will happen so long as you're there to lead us."

"I can't…" Li calmly said, his emotions still bottled up. "Sakura was the only one capable of doing that."

"Then why did you leave that position to me?"

"I can't handle it."

"Why not?"

"I already told you. Something bad might happen if I'm with you on the frontlines. My best hope for your survival is by figuring out what I have to _away_ from all the action. Taking her place could complicate things and…"

Li was interrupted as he found himself wrapped around Tomoyo's arms in a loving embrace, her tears slowly falling. Li could feel the dampness of her cheeks as he hugged her back and kissed her on the forehead.

"I know it's been hard on all of us but we've learned to move on. It's time you should too." Tomoyo whispered to him. "You're not the only one who misses her, Li."


	6. Meeting Upon Meeting

**6**

The classroom was unusually quiet as the students sat at their desks and worked on their assignments while Mr. Terada privately spoke to Eriol, Li, Meiling and Tomoyo at his desk.

"Are your injuries severe?" The teacher asked a sore Tomoyo. "Do you need to see the nurse?"

"No, I'm all right." She gave him a reassuring smile.

"You're sure?"

"Yes. About the report, I'm sorry I didn't complete it on time. I promise I'll have it ready by--"

"Calm down, Tomoyo. None of that matters right now. My only concern is for the safety of my students."

"Really?" The four of them asked surprisingly.

"Yes, really. What happened to you guys last night?"

"We had a run-in with the Reaper." Eriol gave Meiling displeased look.

"You mean the Shadow Reaper the papers have been talking about?"

"The same one." Meiling nodded. "I sort of… went ahead and tried to catch him on my own."

"What?" Terada raised an eyebrow.

"I called for backup."

"_After_ you knew you couldn't take him on your own." Li commented.

"At least she was out there doing something." Eriol snapped at him. "Unlike some people who claim they're trying to look out for their so-called 'friends'."

"Eriol." Tomoyo interjected, trying to prevent a fight. "Please."

His beloved's words and pleading stare was enough for the blue-eyed boy to back down and look away from Li.

"So what are you going to do next?" Terada asked.

"We were thinking of paying Kanaye a visit." Eriol replied. "Maybe he can shed some light on this."

"Hiroshi Kanaye? Why him?"

"His company has been profiting from all the thefts that have been occurring and I have a feeling he'll fall victim next."

"I'm sure he already has." Meiling pointed out last night's pursuit. "He just probably doesn't know it yet."

"He will soon enough."

The teacher nodded and leaned back in his chair. "Okay. Take all the time you need with those reports. You kids just be careful. You'll need each other now more than ever. Remember that."

As his students returned to their desks, Terada couldn't help but notice the empty seat in front of Li. He remembered all the times Sakura would sit there and mind her own business, occasionally speaking with those next to her but never as disruptive as some of the other students he nicknamed "those little bastards".

"Sakura…" The teacher mournfully sighed. "We need you."

¬¬¬¬¬

Inside her office, Principal Mizuki sat at her desk and filled out several documents when there was a knock at the door.

"Come in." She said in an inviting tone. She was pleasantly surprised to see Fujitaka walk through the door. "Mr. Kinomoto."

"Hello, Principal Mizuki." He smiled.

"Please, sit down." 

"Thank you." The man said as he pulled up the chair in front of her.

"I'm sensing this has something to do with next week."

"Amongst other things."

"Like what?"

"The safety of my daughter's friends, for instance. I see Tomoyo and Eriol head out in those black suits and Yukito and Nakuru are always close behind. Kero and Spinel go charging through the front door in hot pursuit to get a piece of the action and I get the feeling they'll be okay until I suddenly realize that my daughter… isn't there with them."

"We all feel the same way, Mr. Kino--"

"Fujitaka." 

The woman chuckled. "Fujitaka."

"I just don't know why I have to concern myself with it now that… you know."

"Yes. In my opinion, Sakura's love for her friends was always her strongest asset and has now become one of her legacies."

"Really?"

"Yes. We all loved your daughter, Fujitaka. She set an example for this city and now it's up to us to uphold it."

"You're right."

"You're not looking forward to next week, are you?"

"I know I should but given the circumstances, I can't bring myself to look forward to anymore of them."

"It's only once a year."

"It's different when she's not there, though. It's the same with Nadeshiko."

"But you've learned to move past that, haven't you?"

"Yes."

"In time, you'll learn to do the same with Sakura's."

"I suppose you're right about that." He chuckled for a brief moment. "After all, it's only a birthday."

"_Her_ birthday. Just because she's gone doesn't mean it's now meaningless."

The man nodded in agreement and smiled. "You really are a smart woman. I can see now why Sakura always turned to you for guidance."

"Not as much as she turned to you."

¬¬¬¬¬

Later that day, Hiroshi Kanaye walked out of the elevator doors with a very timid look on his face as young Tochigi approached him.

"Mr. Kanaye." He said.

"Yes, Tochigi?" Kanaye sighed.

"Your meeting with Earl Culver. I just wanted to remind you that it's been moved to noon tomorrow."

"Earl Culver?" Kanaye thought for a second. "Oh, Varicorp. Yes, thank you Tochigi."

"One more thing, sir."

"Can it wait until tomorrow?"

"I'm afraid not. They're already waiting for you in your office."

"Who?"

Moments later, the businessman was pleased to see his young friends hanging around his office and greeted them all with a cheery smile.

"Eriol, nice to see you again." He shook the boy's hand.

"You too, sir." Eriol nodded.

"Tomoyo, you look lovely as always."

"Thank you, sir." The girl slightly blushed.

The man was surprised to see Li standing amongst them and shook his hand as well. "Li Syaoran. Welcome back."

"Thank you." He simply replied.

"Now, my young friends, what can I do for you?"

"We've been in hot pursuit of the Shadow Reaper these past few months." Tomoyo told him.

"Really?"

"And we know that ever since he's been looting the competition, business has been booming for your company."

"Your financial status has been restored." Eriol added. "Because of all the backlogging with the other companies, you've been the only one unaffected and therefore the most likely candidate for investment."

"You've been reading up on me." Kanaye chuckled. "I'm impressed. But something tells me you're not here to share your interest in the morning paper."

"Mr. Kanaye…" Tomoyo started. "Last night, we had a run-in with the Shadow Reaper and he outmatched us all."

"Really?"

"Whatever technology he's stealing, he's using it as his own arsenal and we think he might come after you next."

"Oh, dear God…" The man placed his head on his desk.

"I know you don't like the idea of it." Li said. "But if we don't act now, your company is in grave danger."

"No, I know… you're right. You're absolutely right. In fact…" The man sighed heavily. "In fact, I think he's already come after me."

"What?" 

"Nights ago, we found some of our documents missing. They contained some very top-secret projects we were working on. Come morning, all the hard disks, backup drives and paperwork had been taken from us."

"What projects?"

Kanaye opened a drawer from his desk and took out a small computer disc then handed it to Li, trusting the young boy greatly.

"This is the only remaining disc we have that contains the basic concepts of the projects. It lists the names, purposes and developers behind them. Keep it close and guard it with your life."

"Thank you." Eriol said.

"Tomorrow I'll be holding a meeting with Earl Culver, the head of Varicorp. Any information I find, I'll be sure to let you know."

¬¬¬¬¬

As night fell across the city, the black and gray suit of the Shadow Reaper blew against the gentle wind as the criminal himself looked down from a building. As the many pedestrians walked on by, a small beeping noise sounded off and alarmed the masked man. Pressing a button on his gauntlet and placing the glove to the side of his head, the Reaper listened closely to the voice on the other end and nodded along to the commands being given to him.

"It shall be done." The Hooded figure said as he turned off the communication. "The Tokyo Knights will die by my hand."

_**AUTHOR'S NOTE: Okay, I'm sorry if this seems a little slow or boring to ya. But believe me, it's all just a setup for the biggest plot twist ever!!! Well, maybe not THE biggest but it's still pretty big. Decent, maybe. Okay, miniscule. Just be patient and you'll see what I'm talking about. Please be patient? Pretty please? **_


	7. Dark Birthday

**7**

That same night, Li sat at his computer inside his room as Eriol, Tomoyo and Meiling stood around him and watched the boy load Kanaye's disc.

"Now remind me what I'm looking for." Li said in a boring tone.

"Anything that fits the Reaper's description." Eriol responded. "Chances are the technology stolen could have helped arm him. That's probably how he was able to beat us all at once."

"We're magicians, damn it." Li grumbled as he scrolled along the computer monitor. "We're not supposed to get our asses handed to us by some freak in a mask and his special toys."

"Maybe you're right." Meiling added. "Maybe things would have turned out differently if you had shown up."

"I already told you that's not happening."

Tomoyo shook her head disappointingly at Li's response then noticed a set of images appearing on the computer screen. "What's that?"

"Here we go." Li moved the mouse around.

After clicking on an icon, several folders laid out across the screen as a small picture and brief description of each project listed beside them.

"Click on that one." Eriol pointed out.

"Project Moonstone." Li read aloud. "It's a suit of armor that can withstand serious amounts of pressure. It's impervious to bullets, fire and damaging weather."

"What about that one next to it?" Meiling pointed to the folder next to Moonstone. 

"Project Firefly." The boy continued. "A compatible flamethrower able to connect with any electronic device and unleash a stream of fire up to 40 ft. long."

"Jesus." She shook her head.

"This one looks interesting." Li moved the mouse over to a folder which read: KLAW-X2000.

"The Klaw X-2000?" Tomoyo raised an eyebrow. "Sounds dangerous."

"Well it should be." Li continued. "It's a gauntlet that acts as an energy absorber, sending whatever it absorbs back to the source."

"What else?"

"When activated, a set of razor-sharp tips will unleash on the fingers of the glove and a propeller hidden beneath the cuff can be activated by pressing the button on the gauntlet's console."

"Hey, check that out." The young girl pointed out to a small note. "It says when the energy meter is switched to a lower setting, the attack will simply paralyze its targets temporarily."

"Yeah, I remember how _that_ felt." Meiling rubbed her leg.

"Why would Kanaye make these things?" Eriol asked.

"Military purposes, government bidding, overseas espionage. Take your pick, Hiiragizawa." Li said with a tense sigh. "The possibilities are endless. But we're not here to ask why. We're here to ask how."

"How what?"

"How the hell did this guy know about these projects, where to steal the information and how to make them on his own?"

"Do you think he's working for someone?" Meiling suggested.

"It's possible. But we don't know for sure yet."

"What about all those other projects he stole from those other companies?"

"I don't think they're listed here but I'm sure he's been using those too."

Eriol then pointed out a list of contacts. "What about those?"

"Those must be the other companies Kanaye's kept in touch with." Li clicked on the folder and scrolled down the names. "Yeah, sure enough. Varicorp - E. Culver, Masuyo Industries - J. Masuyo, Hikaru Tech - H. Takei, WayneTech - B. Wayne, Katsu Labs - T. Katsu and Sakai Inc. - R. Sakai. That's just a few of them."

"I thought Sakai was killed."

"Which is probably why his name isn't highlighted like the others."

"If we only knew where he was going next." Tomoyo thought aloud. "Then we could set a trap and bring him down."

"I highly doubt he's going anywhere." Li said as he ejected the disc.

"Why?"

"He's practically raided every major company in Japan. The American parts he stole were probably imported." The boy sighed and gave his friends a defeated look. "I guess we're just gonna have to wait it out and pray to God he comes to us first."

"And if he doesn't come to us?"

"Then we go hunting."

¬¬¬¬¬

"I wound up with a midget!" A middle aged man in a ten gallon hat and suit laughed in his chair. "A midget, I tell ya! Boy howdy! I ain't never gonna go on one of those online dating services agin!"

Kanaye chuckled half-heartedly. "Yes, I would hate to be in your position."

"I bet!"

"Well I'd like to thank you for coming, Mr. Culver."

"No problem Kanaye-san!" The Texan shook the man's hand. "You don't worry about that Shadow Reaper business anymore and you'll be alright!"

"Of course." Kanaye led the man out of the boardroom.

"Y'all take care now, y'hear?"

Kanaye slammed the door hard and exhaled a major sigh of relief. "Oh, thank God! He's gone!"

The businessman then got on his cell phone and contacted someone right away. "Yeah, it's me. He left. No, I didn't find out anything. Go ahead. Yeah… yeah? Okay. Well, you just have fun tonight."

Upon hanging up the phone, the man sat on one of his chairs and rubbed his temple lightly. "God, I hate Americans…"

¬¬¬¬¬

The day had finally come. After a week of endless searching, the Tokyo Knights decided to pack it all in and temporarily end the pursuit in honor of their fallen hero's birthday. Tomoyo and her mother spent most of the day watching all the videos she had recorded of Sakura capturing the Clow Cards and converting them. Eriol and Meiling joined them eventually but Li was nowhere to be found.

"Which one was this?" Meiling asked as she leaned back against the couch.

"I think this one was the… Thunder?" Tomoyo put a finger on her head.

"Looks like it." Eriol nodded as he held onto his beloved.

"What is she wearing?" Sonomi chuckled. "Tell me you didn't make that, Tomoyo."

"Hey!" The young girl smiled. "Give me a break. My style was a little different back then." 

Everyone could then notice Tomoyo starting to cry just a bit as she bowed her head down. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay, Tomoyo." Her mother placed a hand on hers.

"It's just that… I used to make those costumes because I thought they would protect her. But they didn't."

Eriol wiped the tears from Tomoyo's eyes and held her closer. "It's not your fault, Tomoyo."

"Then why do I feel so lousy?"

¬¬¬¬¬

Touya and Fujitaka sat in the living room of their home and flipped through the pages of their photo album. Fujitaka smiled warmly at a picture of Nadeshiko holding an eight month old Sakura.

"Isn't that the most beautiful thing you've ever seen?" He handed his son the photo.

"Yeah." He smiled. "Mom looked beautiful that day."

"Y'know, I always thought I'd see Sakura grow up to look like her mother. Imagine my surprise when I discovered she slowly turned out to look more like me."

Touya chuckled for a bit. "I guess you could say _I'm_ the one who took after mom."

Kero listened in on their conversation from behind the staircase and frowned immensely, wiping a tear from his eye.

"Sakura…" The doll whimpered.

Suddenly, he could feel a sharp pain running through his chest and grit his teeth as to not make a sound. With one stubby little hand, he clenched his hand against his chest and wrapped the other around one of the rails.

"No…" He strained. "Not now… please… the pain…"

The doll then closed his eyes and contacted Suppi with a telepathic link, demanding that he hurry on over to the house. In a matter of seconds, the cat flew through an open window, startling the two men.

"What the hell? Suppi, is that you?" Touya looked back as the cat hurried up the stairs.

"Yeah!" The cat called back as he hurried in and out of Sakura's room, with the magic book in his hand.

"Suppi…" Kero said slowly as the cat dragged him over to the pink book.

"It's all right, Kero." Suppi laid the doll on top of the book's cover. "I've got you, buddy."

Touya and Fujitaka rushed up the stairs to find Kero lying on the magic book as its pages glowed from the inside. The doll's pain eased as the magic of the cards flowed through him.

"Oh, not again." Touya shook his head. "Kero, what the hell?"

"I don't know, Touya…" Kero said as he started to recover. "I can't explain it. The cards are starting to notice Sakura's absence. And when they go crazy, I feel the effects."

"You know it's more than that, Kero." Suppi interrupted.

"No, Suppi… don't."

"What's going on?" Fujitaka asked. "We need to know."

"It's not an easy thing to say, Mr. Kinomoto."

"Suppi, don't tell him." Kero pleaded.

"Tell me what?" The man now demanded to know.

The cat sighed and gave Fujitaka and Touya a sad look. "Without Sakura's magic, Kero doesn't stand a chance. He's dying."

"I thought Eriol said his existence doesn't tie into hers." Touya said.

"Her existence? No. But her magic does."

"How long does he have?"

"I don't know."

"What about…"

Touya stopped his father short. "Yuki's different. He's got the moon to keep him sustained. Plus, I've already given Yue my powers."

"Oh, God. Kero…"

¬¬¬¬¬

Nakuru pulled her car up to Yuki's driveway and met him outside on the front yard. The night was clear and the moon was full as the cold air blew gently against their faces.

"All right, Yuki." Nakuru approached him with a smirk. "What's so important you had to call me over here?"

Yuki's face grew perplexed. "What? No, _you_ called me to wait for you here. Remember?"

"Uhh… _no_."

"Yes you did. You said you were coming over and for me to wait for you out here."

"No, you said you wanted me to come here and meet you here."

"Isn't that what I said?"

"No."

"Wait, what did I say?"

"You said for me to come over."

"No, not that. What did I say that I said that you thought I said?"

"What?"

"What?"

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"…I don't know. I'm lost now."

As the two paused, they noticed a small metallic orb rolling along the floor and stopping in between them. Before they could react, a small explosion sent them flying into opposite directions. Nakuru crashed into the windshield of her car as Yuki busted through the front door of his house and onto his coffee table, glass shattering everywhere.

"What the…" Nakuru looked around in a daze as a trickle of blood ran down her face.

Just then, the Shadow Reaper leapt onto the car and grabbed the young woman by her face, slamming it even further against the already cracked windshield.

"Nakuru?" Yuki called out as he struggled to get up.

The young man was silenced as Nakuru's seemingly lifeless body slammed into him, pushing him further down onto the shattered table.

"Hello, Yukito…" The Reaper said as he unleashed the razor-sharp claws from his gauntlet. "It's time to put Yue down for a nap."

"I don't think so…" Yuki growled under his breath as he gently placed an unconscious Nakuru aside. "You obviously don't know who you're messing with."

"Actually…" The Reaper started as he activated another small orb in his hand. "… I do."

Before Yuki could transform, the Reaper hurled another bomb which exploded in midair, close to the young man's face. Yuki was sent flying back against the wall as a minor piece of the ceiling fell on him.

"So much for the moon guardians." The Reaper said in Nakuru's voice then turned and walked away triumphantly.

¬¬¬¬¬

"That's funny." Touya said as he hung up his cell phone. "Yuki isn't answering his phone. Neither is Nakuru."

"Maybe they just weren't up to it." Fujitaka said, still worried about Kero. "I just hope Kero's going to be all right."

"You heard what Suppi said. It's only a matter of time."

A knock on the door sent Fujitaka almost running to answer it. He was surprised to see Kaho at the door, smiling at him warmly.

"Good evening, Fujitaka." She said.

"Ms. Mizuki…" The man was pleasantly surprised.

"I hope I'm not interrupting anything."

"No, of course not. Do you want to come in?"

"Actually, I was wondering if you and Touya would like to step out for a moment."

"Step out?"

In a matter of seconds, Touya and his father joined Kaho on the front porch, where thousands of people gathered around the the house with candlelight vigils and pictures of Sakura in their hands. Leading this gathering were none other than Takashi, Chiharu, Naoko and Rika as they all took turns kissing a cherry blossom and placing it on the lawn, where an enlarged image of Sakura laid.

"Oh my God…" Fujitaka placed a hand over his mouth, humbled and gratified as a small tear ran down his face.

"You see?" Kaho smiled. "They all loved her."

_**AUTHOR'S NOTE: Okay, everyone. Next chapter? Big one. An important one. One that's gonna change everything. You don't wanna miss it, trust me! If you've been stickin' around so far, you won't be disappointed! **_


	8. Revelation In The Bell Tower

_**AUTHOR'S NOTE: All right, everyone. Here is the turning point of this short, useless story. What's the meaning behind it? Hell if I know. But one thing's for sure. You're in for a shock... I think.**_

**8**

Li ran down the grassy knoll in a hurry, desperate to save his beloved Sakura. The thick cloud of blackness continued dragging the young girl away as she called out to him, hoping he would come to her rescue.

"Sakura!" Li shouted as he tripped and rolled along the hill.

The cloud sparked with electricity before completely swallowing Sakura, her voice drowned out by the gurgling sound from her captor. The red eyes formed once again in the cloud and struck the boy down until he was awake once more in his room, sitting in his chair in the living room. The sound of the telephone ringing was able to break him away from the harsh reality that lingered on in his mind.

"Oh, God…" He sighed, wiping the sweat he had built up. The nightmare was getting to be a lot more tense than he had experienced before. Li got up from the chair and headed for the telephone, which had been ringing for quite some time.

"Hello?" He answered the phone, finding a very upset Tomoyo on the other line. "What? Are you sure? …All right, I'll be there in a minute."

Before meeting his friends at the hospital, Li stopped by to pay someone a visit. After carefully making his way up the hill, he gazed at the shrine of brass and stone that peaked upwards. Looking down at the epitaph, where his beloved's name was etched, he spoke aloud his thoughts and feelings, aware that no one was there to hear him.

"Happy birthday, Sakura." He said softly. "I'm sorry I didn't visit sooner. It's just… it's been so hard without you. Without seeing your smile… without hearing your laugh or your voice. Or even feeling your warm touch. I know you wanted me to look after everyone in your place but the truth is…" He sighed for a moment and fought back his tears. "… I was afraid. I was afraid I'd let you down and lose them like I lost you. Especially Tomoyo. I've been worried for her the most. Because I know you would have also. But… I've been blinded by the fact that Eriol's here now to protect her. And she's come a long way since… I don't know. What I mean to say is… I know what I have to do now. And I promise you I won't let you down."

He ran his hand along the smooth texture of the shrine and finally looked upwards with ambition. "I miss you, Sakura. And I wish you were still here. But it's like Jimmy told me at the funeral. You're not really gone so long as I keep you in here." He placed his hand on his heart then laid a kiss on the block of stone. "I've got to go now. But I promise I'll be back."

¬¬¬¬¬

Touya gazed sadly at his two friends who were lying unconscious on their medical beds. Their encounter with the Reaper left Yukito and Nakuru beaten and in a comatose state. They were barely alive when Touya stumbled upon them, after trying to get a hold of them for hours. This had proved to be a long night for everyone. The young man sighed and returned to the hospital lounge, where the rest of his friends were sitting.

"It was _him_, wasn't it?" Touya asked. "It was the Reaper."

Tomoyo shrugged as she held Eriol's hand tightly. "I don't know."

"It had to be." Eriol said softly. "It only makes sense."

"He's gone too far this time." Touya paced rapidly. "I'm… I'm gonna kill him. I'm gonna get my hands on him and I'm--"

"He'll only use your anger against you and kill _you_ instead." Li said as he entered the hospital. "Trust me. I know how these guys work."

"How would _you_ know?" Meiling snapped at him. "You've never even encountered him before like we have."

Li ignored her and turned to Tomoyo. "How?"

"I don't know." She shook her head. "Touya's the one who found them."

"The place was a mess." Touya started as he sat down. "You could tell there was a struggle but he didn't even give them a chance to transform."

"Are they okay?" Li asked.

"They're in a coma."

Li sighed and looked down, his guilt beginning to take over. "What about Yue and Ruby?"

"Alive." Eriol answered. "But helpless. Whoever this Reaper is, he knew well enough to keep Nakuru and Yukito unconscious to trap their guardian forms inside."

"Where's Kero?"

"He's at home." Fujitaka said as he sat next to Kaho. "Spinel's looking after him."

"Why?"

"He's dying." The principal said with a teary eye. "Without Sakura's magic, he's doomed."

"How has he managed to survive after so long?"

"Spinel said he was using Sakura's magic book to sustain him. Spinel was the only one who knew Kero was dying this whole time. And now it's gotten worse. He might not have long to live."

"Is there any way we can save him?"

"I suggested we put him back inside the book." Eriol explained. "But that would risk releasing all the magic cards. They've been acting strange as well."

"We'll deal with Kero later." Li headed for the exit. "Right now we've got a menace to catch."

"Li?" Tomoyo got up from her seat. "What are you saying?"

"I'm saying things have gone too far and I'm sorry I let it get that way. It looks like the Reaper's done pilfering for whoever it is he's working for. Now he's out to take us out of the picture so he can keep doing what he wants."

"Li, are you actually suggesting…"

"I am, Tomoyo. I want in again."

Everyone got up from their seats, surprised by Li's sudden decision. They now had a glimpse of hope shining within them that was so desperately needed.

"I know I can't replace Sakura." Li said with a gloomy stare. "But I also know she didn't want me to abandon you guys like this. Not now. Not when things have gotten this bad. I'm ready to take my place as leader."

"You're serious?" Eriol asked optimistically.

"Oh yeah." Li gave Meiling a positive look. "I'm serious."

After a lengthy pause, Meiling smiled and put her hand on her cousin's shoulder. "Well it's about damn time!"

Li chuckled for a bit then headed for the door. "Alright, everyone. Those of you coming to kick some ass, better follow me out now. The rest of you keep an eye on our moon guardians."

¬¬¬¬¬

Tomoyo, Eriol, Meiling and Li stood around in the bell tower as the moon lit up parts of the town. They were all wearing their black uniforms together as a unit now and were ready for action. Hurling a fire ofuda into the air, Li managed to send a blazing signal that would hopefully get the Reaper's attention.

"You think he'll get the message?" Meiling eagerly asked.

"I think so." Eriol said. "After all, why start what you can't finish?"

"Something tells me he'll back down and cower from us." Tomoyo joked.

"No…" Li looked around suspiciously. "I think he's already here. Like he's _been_ here the whole time, waiting for us."

"What makes you say that?"

"That." Li pointed his finger out to an oncoming object hurling across the sky.

"Oh great…" Eriol rolled his eyes back as he held up his hand.

Using a magic force field, the blue-eyed boy managed to deflect a small rocket that had been targeting them the entire time. After the fire and smoke cleared, the Reaper's red eyes switched on and caught the team's attention as they readied for battle.

"You're either very foolish to challenge me…" The Reaper's deep voice boomed as he activated the Klaw X-2000. "Or very brave."

"It's pretty hard to gauge so why bother, huh?" Li said as he unleashed his sword. "Now you either turn yourself in or we start cracking skulls. It's your call."

"If anyone's skull is to get cracked, it shall be yours."

"Good answer." Li grinned as he pointed his sword upward and trapped the Reaper in cage of lightning. The two ofuda he had stuck on the ceiling proved to be an elaborate trap that the Reaper failed to notice.

The Reaper, however, didn't last long inside his electrical prison as he absorbed the energy into his gauntlet. "You stupid boy…"

The Reaper hurled a beam of energy towards the boy and knocked him across the room as Tomoyo and Meiling took their cue to spar with their opponent. Meiling jump-kicked the hooded man across the chest as Tomoyo grabbed hold of his arms in a lock.

"Now, Meiling!" Tomoyo shouted as Meiling began laying punches against the Reaper's body.

"I've had enough of this." The Reaper growled as he lifted his leg up to kick Meiling in the face and head-butted Tomoyo.

Eriol spun his staff around and disintegrated the ground his opponent stood on but the Reaper wasn't fooled. He leapt into the air and sent forth a flurry of rotating blades that knocked the staff out of the young boy's hand, cutting it in the process.

While cradling his bleeding hand, Eriol looked up to see the Reaper coming towards him quickly. "Uh-oh…"

The cloaked figure grabbed Eriol by the face and chucked him to the girls, knocking them back down to the floor. Li immediately ran towards the Reaper, swinging his sword against the metallic suit and created a lightshow in the process.

"You want my blood but all you're getting from me is sparks." The villain joked as he deflected Li's swings with his arms.

A vicious punch to the face and Li was out cold. Deciding not to allow any more mistakes, the Reaper charged forward and kicked Meiling across the face, knocking her out as well and slammed Eriol's head against one of the bells.

A loud chime was then emitted and caused the young boy to slump over in pain. Tomoyo got up on her feet and hurried over to an unconscious Li but before help could be given, she found herself being choked with a thin chain.

"No!" Tomoyo gasped as she was pulled against the rocking bell, the chain tightly wrapping around her neck.

The Shadow Reaper held onto the chain with both hands and pulled heavily, trying to either break the girl's neck or suffocate her. As the reaper pulled, Tomoyo's face started to turn red as she gagged for air and held her hand out for assistance.

"Poor little Daidouji." The Reaper spoke as he choked her. "You knew what you were getting yourself into. So don't act so surprised."

Tomoyo was already starting to give out as she lowered her hands and kicked her feet around, desperate for air. Luckily, Li came to her rescue in time as he kicked the bell back and knocked it into the Reaper's facemask.

"No!" The enemy growled as he dropped the chain.

Li carried a weakened Tomoyo to the corner of the tower and helped her with her breathing. "Are you okay, Tomoyo?" He asked her.

"Yes…" She breathed heavily. "Thank you."

The Reaper's metallic mask was now ringing from the bell's impact and caused him to waddle around the room in pain. This gave Eriol the moment he needed to send an ice attack and slow the menace down by freezing his joints.

"Now, Li!" The boy shouted.

Li sprung into action and began punching the hooded man around without stopping. He then grabbed him by the cloak and shoved him into the bell even harder, causing it to chime louder and heavier.

Furious now, Li slapped an ofuda against the Reaper's mask and set it ablaze, burning the man up inside. He stepped back as Meiling came around and stood next to a recovering Tomoyo.

"No! No, my face!" The Reaper's distorted voice now shouted.

"Burns, doesn't it?" Li grinned with a bit of blood running down the side of his mouth.

The Reaper could stand the pain no longer as he ripped off the burning slip and tore off his gray cloak, revealing a skintight suit of black. With the mask now turning red-hot, the Reaper unhinged the flaps of the mask and tossed it aside. The Shadow Reaper's true face was then revealed, forcing everyone to back away in horror and disbelief.

"Oh my God…" Eriol whispered.

"No…" Meiling shook her head. "It can't be."

Tomoyo could say nothing as she put a hand on her mouth, too shocked from the identity of this menacing enemy.

Li fell to his knees, trembling at the sight before him. With a single tear rolling down his face, Li said the only thing that came to his mind:

"Sakura?"

_**ANOTHER NOTE: …C'mon, now. You didn't think she'd actually STAY dead, did ya? **_


	9. Face Of The Enemy

_**AUTHOR'S NOTE: Am I a bastard or what? Now by a show of hands, who didn't see that last chapter coming? Huh? Honest to God, how many of you thought I'd really leave Sakura dead? Hehehe…**_

_**WARNING: Okay, as I mentioned earlier, these last few chapters are gonna get a little bit graphic. And longer. And… something. I don't know…**_

**9**

Everyone stood still in the bell tower as Sakura stared at them with her cold, threatening eyes which were no longer green but an eerie shade of gray instead. Stepping forward, an overemotional Li held his hand out to touch the young girl but she quickly scraped him with the Klaw.

"Sakura!" Tomoyo pleaded. "Stop! What are you doing? We're your friends!"

"I have no friends." She growled under her breath. "You are my enemy. And I have been ordered to eliminate all my enemies."

"Ordered?" Li asked as he cradled his bleeding hand. "Who ordered you? Sakura, who are you working for? Who did this to you?"

Sakura ignored the boy and scraped the razor-sharp gauntlet across his face, knocking him into the wall. Eriol raised his staff again to immobilize the young girl but she was too quick for him. With the use of her chain, Sakura managed to swing the staff out of Eriol's hands and knock down Meiling and Tomoyo in the process.

"Sakura, you've got to remember who you are!" Eriol pleaded with her. "We're not your enemies! We love you!"

"Shut up!" Sakura screamed as she jumped off the ledge and scraped her way down the building using her powerful glove.

"Damn it!" Eriol growled as he helped the girls up.

Li managed to get back on his feet and pulled out a small device from his suit pocket. He then flipped a small switch and watched as it slowly beeped a red light.

"What is that?" Meiling asked.

"I put a tracking device on her." He answered, keeping his eyes on the small screen.

"When?"

"During our scuffle. I wanted to make sure he… _she_ wouldn't get away for long in case something like this happened."

"Sakura's alive?" Tomoyo shook her head in disbelief.

"That isn't Sakura."

"What?"

"I mean it _is_ but she's not herself. Whoever she's working for must have been the one to bring her back to life and erase her memory."

"But how did she come back to life?" Eriol thought aloud. "It doesn't make any sense."

The GPS device then beeped even faster as Li suddenly discovered the location of Sakura's whereabouts. "Oh my God…"

"What is it?"

"I know where she's going. And more importantly, I know who's responsible."

¬¬¬¬¬

Back at the Kinomoto household, the team had stopped by to pay Fujitaka a visit and tell him the news before brining their friend home. The professor sat back in his chair and buried his face underneath the palm of his hand, trying to hold back his tears.

"You mean to tell me…" He trembled. "…My Sakura is alive?"

Li nodded. "Yes. But she's not herself."

"Someone's controlling her." Tomoyo added. "We have to bring her back now and try to repair the damage that's been done."

"How?" The man asked as he wiped away the tears. "Can you restore her memory?"

"We might." Eriol answered. "I could jumpstart her brain with one of my spells but I don't think it would be strong enough. If her magic abilities are still inside, they could resist and backfire."

"Then how do you plan on making her remember?"

Meiling then got an idea. "We'll need some sort of symbol."

"A what?" Li raised an eyebrow.

"Something warm and iconic that'll get her brain going."

"Not to mention her heart." Tomoyo suggested.

"Wait a minute…" Li started to catch on. "Do you mean a symbol… of our love?" He then turned to Eriol, who was actually nodding along to the idea. "Eriol? What do you think?"

"Actually, Li… despite the clichéd archetype, I truly believe that might work." The blue-eyed boy smiled. "Sakura was never one to remember things by memory but by heart. If there's something you have that might force Sakura into remembering her love for you, I suggest we use it."

"It could be our only chance." Meiling agreed.

Li thought for a moment then looked upstairs with an intriguing look on his face. "I think I've got just the thing. Tomoyo, come with me."

The two headed up the stairs and walked towards Sakura's room, where they noticed the door was closed. Li could feel the aura emanating from behind the door and almost shivered at its coldness. Tomoyo put her hand on the knob and slowly turned it, pushing the door forward and stepping into an almost forgotten memory. The room was exactly the way Sakura had left it. Clean, neat and her plush collection in its original setting.

Tomoyo and Li turned their attention to Sakura's dresser, where Kero laid on top of the magic book. Spinel sat next to the yellow doll and watched helplessly as his friend breathed heavily and tossed around in place.

"Spinel?" Tomoyo gently called his name. "Is he okay?"

Spinel sighed and looked up to the young girl, a tear forming in his eye. "I don't think he's gonna make it, Tomoyo. He's getting a lot worse now."

"Everything will be fine." Li assured him. "We just found out Sakura's alive." 

"What?"

"We'll need the book to recharge her magic."

"But Kero…"

"Hopefully by then, she'll have regained her magic well enough to keep Kero alive."

"Where's Touya?"

"He's still at the hospital, looking after Nakuru and Yukito."

Hesitantly, Spinel lifted the ailing plush and flew him inside his cubbyhole as Li held onto the magic Sakura book. It was then when he noticed from the mirror's reflection exactly what he needed to restore Sakura's memory.

Tomoyo noticed this as well as she received the object from Li and wrapped it around a small cloth. Then, noticing the major cut on Li's face, she used a different cloth to wipe away the remaining splotches of blood and smiled warmly.

"Thanks." Li said in a low tone. "I forgot all about that."

"Are you sure?" Tomoyo asked him, indicating the wrapped object. "Will this work?"

"I know it will. It has to."

"And if it doesn't?"

"Then we're screwed."

After a brief silence, the two burst out laughing in an attempt to ease the tension and raise their spirits much to Spinel's bewilderment. Grateful for her devotion through all this time, Li leaned in and wrapped Tomoyo in a tight hug as the young girl happily returned the gesture.

"Thank you, Tomoyo." He said gently.

"For what?" She wondered aloud.

"For being the friend I so desperately needed this whole time."

"Ask and you shall receive. Now come on…" Tomoyo placed a brief and friendly kiss on the boy's lips. "…Let's go get our Sakura back."

¬¬¬¬¬

In an undisclosed part of town, inside a dark and cold building, a powerful wind current began to form. A swirling vortex then ripped through midair as flashes of lightning lit up the room and gusts of wind blew several objects away. In no time at all, Li, Tomoyo, Eriol and Meiling materialized inside the dark room and knew right away they were being expected.

"Nice trick, Eriol." Meiling teased. "Any louder and we might as well have snuck in with a marching band."

"As long as it gets their attention." He grinned.

"Well? Where is she?"

"She's here." Li said. "I can sense her." 

"What about the other one?" Tomoyo looked around.

"Oh yeah. He's not too far behind." Li stepped forward and ran his eyes along the dark corners of the room. He couldn't see anything but he knew the real enemy was there. "All right. Show yourself!"

There was a long pause. No response. As Li pulled out his sword from the holster, Tomoyo and Meiling balled up their fists while Eriol gripped his staff tightly.

"Damn it, Kanaye! I mean it!" Li grew impatient. "Come out here and face us!"

Just then, the lights flickered on as a series of switches could be heard clicking in the distance. It was now revealed to the group that they were inside one of Kanaye Industries' older and more secluded testing warehouses. A faint applause then emanated as Hiroshi Kanaye revealed himself from behind a corner and slowly descended the staircase with a mischievous grin on his face.

"You figured it out, did you?" He chuckled.

"By accident, no less." Li gave him a dirty look.

"Well… I assume you would have caught on eventually."

"Where's Sakura?"

"Oh, she's here. And she's quite excited about seeing you all again. Now that I've equipped her with the most advanced technology yet to bee seen by the general public, she's just itching to give it all a try! Starting with you meddling teenagers." 

"It's not going to be like that, Kanaye."

"Oh no?" The man snapped his fingers. "Sakura! You can come in now, dear!"'

Sakura caught everyone's attention as she marched down another set of stairs, wearing a more advanced suit of armor and a darker, more sleeker cowl. The Klaw X-2000 was still attached to her right arm and her eyes remained as gray and lost as ever. Kanaye slid up to the young girl and put his hands on her shoulders.

"Isn't she adorable?" He teased them.

Li immediately charged for the man but Sakura swiftly kicked the boy in the throat and knocked him down. As Meiling helped her cousin up, Eriol gripped his staff even tighter and decided not to make a move just yet. There were several questions that needed to be answered.

"How, Kanaye? And why?" Eriol asked.

The 40 year old giggled like a sadistic child and put his arms around Sakura. "Oh, Mr. Hiiragizawa, what would you like to know? Huh? Everything? Maybe I should go back to the beginning."

"The beginning?"

"Yes. The beginning. You see, I inherited this company after my father died and in the early 80s, I noticed profits were slowly declining. Fast forward a little over 20 years, taking into account the frantic roller coaster known as the stock exchange, and you'll find us at our first meeting. After your arrival from… what was it? Oh yes. The Temple of Xiang Zhou."

"How did you know about that?" Li asked as his breathing regulated back to normal.

"Oh come on, Syaoran. Think about it. Lorca controlled the Demon Knights with the Sangria Gauntlet and therefore knew where you were headed. He was my partner. And as all partners do, he informed me of everything."

"Wait a minute." Eriol came to a sudden realization. "Do you mean to tell me Lorca and the Demon Knights were just pawns?"

"Correct, young Hiiragizawa! How else was everyone going to believe Sakura died?"

"Enlighten us." Meiling scowled.

Kanaye then held up a small vial containing a familiar looking blue liquid. "Remember this?"

"You bastard!" Tomoyo immediately caught on as she headed for Kanaye. The young girl was cut short, however, as she too suffered the same blow from Sakura as Li did.

"Temper, temper, young Daidouji." Kanaye waved his finger. "You keep this up and I'll have to cut our session short."

"You said the project was scrapped…" Tomoyo panted heavily as Eriol helped her up.

"It was. Luckily, I had already given Sakura the amount of elixir she needed before she fell at the hands of Lorca."

"What?"

"Do you remember Sakura asking me about the possibilities should a person who is already alive, take the serum that is meant to serve only the dead?" The man patted Sakura on the head and giggled. "Well we found out, didn't we!?"

Sakura listened as Kanaye explained but didn't say a word. She remained focused on her so-called "enemies" and awaited for the order to kill them all. As she stood idly by, she listened to how Kanaye rigged the attack on the train station by hiring guns in seclusion and a sniper armed with specially designed darts that held the Genesis elixir. For some reason, she understood what he was talking about but remained loyal to the man without thinking twice.

"You staged the whole attack!?" Li demanded to know. "Several people got hurt because of you!"

"I thought it was funny that Sakura got hit by a dart from a sniper." Tomoyo added. "All the others were using guns and he was using tranquilizers. And they were all filled with the elixir."

"Exactly!" Kanaye said in a sing-song voice. "According to my calculations, a standard dosage taken by a normal living person would simply reverse the effects and kill the test subject instantly. However, as we all know, Sakura was _not_ a normal living person! She was special! So I simply loaded a larger-than-usual dosage into the darts and gave them to my man. Taking into account her magic abilities and enhanced DNA, I knew right away Sakura wouldn't start to feel the effects for another couple of days. Say… the Kibou Festival?"

"That's why Sakura's magic was failing her against the Black Knight." Eriol concluded.

"She was already dying and she didn't know it." Li nodded along. "Not until she was completely worn out."

"You knew she'd have to concentrate all her energy into that beam to stop Lorca. And that it would… weaken her."

Kanaye nodded. "And that was enough to let our little cherry blossom rest for a day. Then with a generous contribution from yours truly, I was more than willing to handle all the funeral arrangements in order to gain access to Sakura's so-called 'grave'. Good thing she woke up just in time without a clue as to who she was or _where_ she was…"

"So you used Sakura to satisfy your own personal greed and steal several top secret projects from your rivals?" Meiling accused the man.

"I took her in, cleaned her up, had her trained and set her loose in this huge playground we call Tomoeda."

Li nodded at his friends then turned to Kanaye. "Right, we're gonna kick your ass now."

Tomoyo and Meiling doubled up on Sakura by grabbing her by the arms and pulling her away. Sakura, however, wasn't fooled as she leapt into the air and kicked them both in the back and broke away from their grasp. She then flipped her way towards Eriol, sweeping him to the floor and using his staff to smack Li upside the head with it.

"Very good, Sakura!" Kanaye applauded. "Now finish them."

"Yes, my master." Sakura nodded as she began stabbing Eriol with the tips of the staff.

While being unmercifully jabbed by his own weapon, Eriol focused his magic and activated the wand's orb much to Sakura's awareness.

"Lightning…" Eriol struggled to say.

As the orb glowed, Sakura turned the weapon around and aimed it towards Meiling and Tomoyo just in time to attack them with Eriol's spell. Once they were knocked unconscious, Sakura tossed the staff away and kicked Eriol's face, knocking him out as well.

"Now kill _him_." Kanaye pointed at Li, who was just standing around without an ounce of fear in him.

It became apparent to both Kanaye and Sakura that Li had no intention of backing down and that he would probably stand his ground longer than anyone else. Sakura activated her razor-sharp glove and swung it around, trying to slash Li's throat but to no avail. He was too quick for her but she was getting closer with each swing. Desperate to bring her back, Li finally managed to grab hold of Sakura's arms and looked deep into her eyes.

"Sakura, don't do this!" He pleaded. "It's me, remember? Li! The one you love!"

"No…" She head-butted him.

Li struggled to get back up but the menacing young girl saved him the trouble by grabbing him by the neck with the sharp fingertips of the glove. A punch to the face and Li was now bleeding from the nose. Sakura could see the boy's determination and paused for a moment much to Kanaye's disapproval.

"Sakura!" Kanaye began. "Don't hold back, darling! You can do it!"

Another punch and Sakura noticed Li purposely dropping his sword to the ground. She gave him a confused look as the boy awaited her next blow. Something about him caused her to think for a moment. Was he telling the truth? Does she really love him?

"You know it's true, Sakura…" Li breathed heavily, his face slightly covered with blood. "I've always loved you… and you've always loved me… Don't do this. You're not the bad guy here. _He_ is…"

"He's lying, Sakura." Kanaye said in a firm voice. "Finish him off then work on the others."

Sakura shook off her strange feelings and punched the boy in the stomach, causing something to fall out from inside his suit. She paused for a moment to look down at the strange roll of cloth and picked it up in front of Li and Kanaye.

"What are you doing, Sakura?" Kanaye was now growing impatient. "Put that down."

Curious, Sakura slowly unraveled the cloth as Li anticipated her reaction to it. As the last bit of cloth fell to the floor, Sakura's memory immediately kicked into overdrive much to Li's joy.

"Li…" Sakura carefully whispered as a tear fell on top of the teddy bear she held in her hands. It was the same teddy bear Li had given her the day she realized she loved him and thanks to Li's assumption, it was enough to bring her back from the darkness.

"Sakura!" Kanaye now shouted. "What are you doing!? Quit playing around and kill the enemy!"

Sakura handed the bear to Li and slowly turned around to face Kanaye as her eyes regained their emerald sparkle. Li then took out the magic book and opened it up, allowing the cards to awaken and flow into their mistress.

Sakura could now feel their energy flowing through her as her magic reawakened. Charging her fists with the Power card, Sakura then walked towards Kanaye with a malicious smile on her face.

"Kill the enemy, you say? Coming right up…"

_**NOTE: Sakura's back and now she's pissed! Hang on! The last chapter's coming up soon! Until then, let me know what ya think so I can read something other than SPAM mail! **_


	10. A Life Redeemed

**10: the final chapter**

The plan was simple. For Hiroshi Kanaye, one of Japan's most successful billionaire industrialists, the road to reclaiming his place at the top of the business world was absolutely, positively, mind-boggling simple. At least, that's what he thought at first. For the past few years, the 40 year old businessman was losing money to other competitors, who were making much further advancements in technology and medicine for the military, personal investors and so forth.

As every buyer and investor sought out the best company to bet their money on, Kanaye Industries was nowhere to be found on the list. Tired of striving for the top, Kanaye was about to sell his company to the highest bidder until one day. One fateful day that changed everything. A young girl and her friends led an army of magicians along a raging battlefield in the streets of San Francisco, eventually having an epic showdown on Alcatraz.

Later, the businessman would discover the dark secret of one of his business associates. Christopher Lorca, a professor at Tokyo Tech and part-time assistant to Kanaye, was revealed to be Johann Georg Faust's last living descendant and heir to the Sangria Gauntlet, the key to the Demon Realm. Forming a new alliance of revenge and greed, the two men set up an elaborate plan to bring honor back to Lorca's family name and to help Kanaye regain his place at the top.

The two would stage a series of events that would eventually lead to Sakura's untimely death, starting with the recovery of all 4 Demon Knights. Under Lorca's control, the Blue Knight traveled across the globe and revived his fellow riders then awaited for Kanaye's annual Kibou Festival to take place. Before that time came, however, Kanaye set forth his plan to inject Sakura with his most ambitious project to date: The Genesis Project. By using a team of hired guns to distract Sakura and her team, Kanaye was successful in having his sniper inject Sakura with a dart filled with the Genesis elixir.

The events that would soon follow were carefully planned out ahead of time by Kanaye. First, because of Sakura's enhanced DNA and magical abilities, Sakura would need a larger dose of the elixir to slowly weaken her over a course of a few days. Not only would that prevent her from using her magic to its full potential but the extra amount of elixir circulating in her body would allow her to die then use the excess matter to resurrect her at the cost of her memory. After Sakura's supposed "death" was broadcast, Kanaye put up an act with all of Tomoeda and Sakura's friends and family by generously setting up the funeral processions throughout town and paying for the whole thing itself.

Having complete access to Sakura's grave, where an underground facility was built beneath it, Kanaye revived Sakura and immediately took to training the young girl and reprogramming her mind. Arming her with a few inventions of his own, Kanaye then set Sakura loose on the town with only one objective: To steal as much information from as many competing corporations as possible then returning the information to him without getting caught. Because of the many raids Sakura had accomplished, Kanaye's rivals were indeed losing money and investors and with Kanaye gaining access to their projects, he used them to better equip Sakura and send her out for more confidentialities.

As Kanaye's company remained the only one untouched by the many raids, the businessman found himself back at the top again as several buyers felt safer investing their money with him. Things went well for him until Li Syaoran and his friends began snooping around and meddling in his affairs. Deciding it was best to confront them with the truth and eliminate them once and for all, Kanaye sent Sakura to take out moon guardians Yue and Ruby Moon in an attempt to provoke the team into fighting. The rest all played out according to plan. Until now, that is…

"Sakura, calm down…" Kanaye backed away slowly as Sakura gave him a deadly stare. "I know you're mad. I can understand that but please…"

"Mad?" Sakura calmly said. "Oh, I'm not mad. Not in the least bit. I can understand your actions."

"Really?"

"No." Sakura waved her hand and blew the man against a wall using the Wind card.

"S-Sakura…" Kanaye was now quivering with fear as he knocked over a few glass containers. "You're being irrational…"

"Irrational?" Sakura rushed over to the man, grabbed him by the shirt and hurled him into a table of various objects.

Kanaye rolled over the table and hit the floor with his head, giving him a slight concussion in the process. Sakura took her time with the man as she prepared to give his life a new meaning of pain.

"You staged the attack on the train station." She said as she picked the man up. "That was bad." Then using her might with the Power, she punched the man across the face and sent him rolling into another room of the building.

Kanaye crawled away in pain but Sakura kept close, her eyes remained locked on him. "You sent Lorca on a rampage, hurting several people in the process. _That_ was bad." She kicked him across the face and watched as he coughed up a bit of blood.

"You made the world think I was dead." She continued. "Also bad." Sakura then lifted the man up by the back of his shirt and tossed him through another wall.

Kanaye rolled along in the rubble, cradling his sprained wrist and looked up as Sakura picked him back up. She then continued. "And then you brainwashed me into hurting the people I love, nearly killing them in the process. Now _that_… was stupid."

And with that said, Sakura head-butted the man with all her might and gave him yet another concussion. Losing his concentration and balance, Kanaye waddled away and backed into the building's grid windows, where a 20 story drop awaited below.

"Sakura, please…" Kanaye said out of breath.

"No, Kanaye." She shook her head. "It's over."

Sakura then charged into the man and sent him flying out the window. As he began to drop, Sakura intercepted him and swung him back into the building, where he crashed through another window leading into another room. Hiroshi trembled in place and noticed several tiny shards of glass lodged deeply into his skin as the blood began to rise.

"No…" He painfully whispered.

"Oh yes…" Sakura said as she grabbed the man by the throat. "You didn't think I'd let you die like that, did you?"

"Please…"

"It's no use begging for mercy."

"You're not… a murderer…"

"Oh no? Well thanks to you, I am _now_!" Sakura then grabbed hold of the man's weakened arm and twisted it back much to his agony. She held onto the arm firmly and didn't let go as she gave him yet another dirty glare. "You took away six months of my life. I'm here to end _yours_."

"No, Sakura! Please!" Kanaye whimpered. "I took you in…I treated you well… I was… I was like a father to you. I was--"

"_**I ALREADY HAVE A FATHER!**_" Sakura shouted at the top of her lungs as she broke the man's arm in three different places.

"No!" He wailed.

Having lost her patience, Sakura swung her fist across the corrupt businessman's face with a left hook then returned with a right. She then continued this pattern until the man finally collapsed to the floor.

"No, Kanaye!" She scolded as she lowered herself to the ground and crouched over her enemy, landing several more punches to his face.

Releasing all her anger, all her rage and all her fury, Sakura bludgeoned the man with her fists at a rapid pace and breathed heavily as she landed every punch. Her hatred for this man proved to be so severe, that eventually spurts of blood landed on the girl's black suit after her punches grew stronger. Every new punch sent forth a new burst of blood from the man's face but Sakura didn't care. She wanted to see him dead. Finally, she raised her fist for the last time and attempted to lay it on Kanaye but noticed someone else's hand was placed around her wrist.

"Tomoyo?" Sakura gave her friend a surprised look. "Are you okay?"

"I'm okay, Sakura." She held onto Sakura's fist firmly. "But are _you_ okay?"

"I'm fine."

"Are you? Are you really?"

"Of course."

"Then what are you doing?"

"I'm trying to end this once and for all, Tomoyo."

"By killing him?"

"Yes."

"He's had enough."

"He doesn't deserve to live, Tomoyo. You know that."

"Yes. But that doesn't mean he deserves to die, either. For someone like Hiroshi Kanaye, death is nothing but an easy way out. You know that, Sakura. I know you do."

Sakura paused for a moment as she looked down on Kanaye's seemingly lifeless body and almost unrecognizable face. She then looked at her fist as the blood slowly dripped from the knuckles of her glove. With a heavy sigh, Sakura stood back up and gave her enemy one last kick across the face as more blood shot from his mouth.

"You're right" Sakura whispered to her friend as a tear rolled down her eye. "I can't kill him. I've already spilled enough blood."

"Then let it rest."

Sakura slowly nodded. "…I guess I should."

"Game over, Kanaye." Tomoyo looked down on the man as he breathed slowly. "You lose." The two girls then turned away and exited the room.

Kanaye managed to lift his battered head up and sobbed at the sight of his broken arm as a chunk of bone clearly stuck out from his torn flesh. Defeated, he dropped his head to the floor and awaited for the authorities to arrive. It was with them, where his fate would now lie.

¬¬¬¬¬

Kero awoke the next morning, revitalized and full of energy. He yawned loudly and scratched his back when he noticed Sakura in her bed, sleeping peacefully. Panicking, the doll tripped over his tail and rolled over to the alarm clock.

"Oh, God! Sakura!" He shrieked, waking the young girl up. "But you're dead! Wait! Is this Heaven? Then does that mean _I'm_ dead!? Oh God! I didn't make it!"

"Kero?" Sakura yawned.

"Oh Jesus!" A thought struck Kero. "Maybe I'm _not _dead! Maybe you're a zombie!"

"What?" Sakura then found herself being whacked over the head with a pillow. "Ow! Kero! Stop it!"

"Back! Back I say!"

"Kero, enough!" Sakura grabbed the doll and brought him close to her heart in a warm embrace. "It's okay, Kero. There's no need to panic."

"Is… is this real?" The doll asked with a lump in his throat. "You're alive?"

"Yes."

"Then these past six months were nothing but a dream?"

"I'm afraid not, Kero."

"Then how?"

"It's a long story. But the important thing is that I'm back now. And I promise I'll never leave you again."

"Oh, Sakura!" The doll happily rubbed his small head against hers.

"I missed you too, Kero." Sakura smiled as she kissed the doll on his head.

Just then, Spinel rushed in and tackled Kero along the bed in a friendly embrace. "Kero!"

"Oh, shit…" Kero choked.

"Buddy! You're alive! Oh thank Hoffa! I knew you'd be okay!"

"Yeah, yeah! Now get off me!"

With a giggle, Sakura laid back on her bed and sighed as the two bickered with each other. "It's good to be back."

¬¬¬¬¬

There was a small gathering at the Kinomoto household during breakfast as Fujitaka, Kaho and Sonomi sat at the dining table while Touya escorted newly-released Yukito and Nakuru into the dining room. They were still sore from their encounter but it wouldn't be long until they would be completely healed up. As they all took a seat, Meiling and Tomoyo arrived, wheeling in a recovering Eriol.

"Glad you're okay, you two." Fujitaka smiled.

"Thanks." Yuki smiled.

"Admit it, Touya!" Nakuru placed the young man in a headlock. "You missed me! You worried about me!"

"I'm not…" He struggled to speak. "…Going to dignify that… with an answer."

"Is Sakura still sleeping?" Sonomi asked.

"I wouldn't be surprised." Kaho answered. "After all she's been through."

"That was one long birthday…" Meiling shook her head. "How are you holding up, Eriol?"

"Oh, I'm fine…" Eriol stiffly said, his whole body placed in a cast. "Just fine."

"Oh, poor Eriol…" Tomoyo kissed her beloved on the forehead. "Look at it this way. At least she's on _our _side again."

"I suppose you're right."

"But man!" Meiling joked. "Did she kick our asses or what!?"

"Where's Li?" Sonomi changed the subject.

"He's outside on the porch." Fujitaka turned his attention across the room as Sakura walked in, fully dressed. He got up from his seat and walked towards her. "Sakura…"

"Hello, father." She smiled warmly.

After a long pause, the father and daughter reunited with a powerful embrace as everyone watched and smiled. Wiping a tear from her eye, Tomoyo pulled out her camera from under the table and started recording as Meiling rolled her eyes back and chuckled. It had been a long time since she'd done that.

"A family reunited." Kaho beamed.

¬¬¬¬¬

Li sat on the porch outside as the sun shined brightly over the neighborhood. Alone with his thoughts and feelings, the young boy almost didn't hear Sakura open the front door and step outside with him. Slowly, Li turned around and immediately recognized the face he saw before him.

There was a strange and awkward silence that befell the two until Sakura decided to break the ice. She moved in closer to the boy, her hands behind her back and looked deeply into his eyes.

"Li…" She started. "You saved me. You're always saving me."

"I…" Li tried to think of something. "I couldn't give up on you. I knew you weren't dead. You were just… lost."

"How?"

"My dreams. It wasn't until you took the mask off when they started to make sense."

"Always the thinker." She chuckled.

"Sakura…" He put his hands on her shoulders.

It was then when Sakura took out her hands and revealed the small bear she had been given so long ago. The one key to bringing her back from the darkness. The one, true symbol of their love for each other.

"Thank you, Li." She whispered softly.

Sakura then found herself wrapped in yet another hug and could feel Li trembling in her arms. After all this time, after all the pain he had endured and after successfully bringing his beloved back from the grave, Li finally broke down and cried. Not from anger. Not from sadness. But from the sheer happiness he could only find with Sakura, who was now in his arms once again.

A surprised Sakura slightly pulled her head back and gently wiped the tears from her beloved's eyes. "Li… you're crying."

"Yeah…" He chuckled through the tears. "I guess I am."

"Are you okay?"

"I am now."

Sakura slowly moved her face in closer to Li's until their lips met with a long and passionate kiss. Their first in a very long time. Finally, after what seemed like a blissful eternity, Sakura and Li broke away when they noticed everyone looking at them from inside the house.

"Oh, I forgot about this part…" Sakura blushed.

"I forgot about Touya…" Li began to panic.

"I'll kill him!" Touya screeched from inside the house as Nakuru and Yukito held him back. "Let me go! I'll rip his face off with my bare hands! I'll bite his head off!"

"Oh, I missed this!" Tomoyo hugged Eriol tightly much to his displeasure.

"Ow!" He groaned. "Tomoyo? Darling?"

"Oh, sorry…"

Sakura turned away and looked into the distance as Li watched her closely. He looked towards her direction but couldn't quite figure out what she was looking at.

"Sakura?" He asked. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah…" She grinned.

Tomoyo, Yukito, Nakuru, and Meiling stepped out of the house as Sakura continued looking far away much to Li's bewilderment.

"What's going on?" Tomoyo asked. "Is everything all right?"

"I'd say it is, Tomoyo." Sakura giggled. "Hey, you guys?"

"Yeah?" Yukito raised an eyebrow.

"Anybody else get the feeling we should be out there taking care of the city?"

"What? You mean now?"

"Sakura?" Nakuru put a hand on her shoulder. "Are you up for it?"

Sakura turned to Li. "Well?"

With a grin of his own, he nodded. "I'm game."

"Yes!" Tomoyo and Meiling high-fived each other eagerly.

"We're back!" Tomoyo then turned to Eriol. "Sorry, Eriol. You'll have to sit this one out."

"I seriously doubt that…" Eriol struggled to get out of his wheelchair but the pain in his back proved too much for him. "…Yeah, you know what? You guys go ahead. Bring me back something nice."

¬¬¬¬¬

In the park, Takashi, Chiharu, Naoko and Rika strolled along the grass with their heads down. They had gotten wind about Kanaye's apprehension and how the police uncovered his shady business transactions but nothing about the Shadow Reaper.

"Well…" Chiharu sighed. "There goes another person off the 'Tokyo Knights Allies List'."

"I never trusted that guy anyway." Takashi shook his head.

"Do you guys hear something?" Naoko looked around.

"Is something wrong with her?" Rika asked.

"I'm being serious!"

"Hey, wait a minute." Takashi turned his head upward. "I hear it too."

"What is it, Takashi?" Chiharu started to worry.

"It sounds like a… a plane or something. Like a jet."

"It could be the Knights going on another mission." Naoko suggested. "They _do_ have a jet, you know."

"Yeah but this one sounds different."

"Different?" Rika scratched her head.

"Yeah. It sounds… _faster_."

"Oh my God!" Chiharu pointed to the sky. "Look!"

An explosion of sound broke the silence and practically knocked the four to the ground as a powerful jet stream rocketed through the sky. Upon closer examination, they were surprised and at the same time excited to see their old friend Sakura soaring rapidly through the air and back into action.

"Yes!" Takashi shot his fist into the air. "Sakura's back!"

"Sakura!" The girls jumped with joy.

As Sakura flew above all of Tomoeda with everyone watching in awe, she could see her friends following closely behind. With a leftward spiral, Sakura winked at Touya and Yukito as they ascended the WarHawk from the air hangar. To her right, Meiling ran along the roofs of the building and leaped every one with ease. Continuing her flight through the sky, Sakura could see Yue and Ruby passing her by as Spinel Sun swooped along with Eriol on his back. Keeping up the pace, Sakura could see Cerberus carrying Li and Tomoyo, who were happy to fight by her side once more as they headed towards the sun.

"All right, everyone!" Sakura shouted. "Let's go have some fun!"

_**THE END**_

**_NOTE: Yeah, okay… I know what you're thinking. What was the point of all this? No point, really. I just wanted to do something different. Something a bit more emotional and less silly. Obviously I failed. _:(_ I don't even know if I should go on with the next story or not… aw, to hell with it. I'm gonna do it anyway! _**

_**  
UP NEXT: **_

_**Everything from "The Next Crusade" and onward will all catch up to this next story. The magic army, Sakura's 3 symbols, the Demon Knights and even the Shadow Reaper will have something to do with my most ambitious story to date. I'm not gonna give much away but it's gonna be BIG. I mean BIG ASS BIG. There's even potential crossover material but that's all I'm gonna say right now. So until then, adios! And thanks for the reviews!**_


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